Chinese tea terms, explained

Tea terms help you describe what you taste and make sense of a label. Here are some common words for flavour, plants, processing and teaware, with advice on how to use them.

A gaiwan, serving pitcher and cups on a tea tray.
Photo: Il lupa · CC BY-SA 4.0

Taste and mouthfeel

Hui gan (回甘) means a returning sweetness after a sip. It can be more noticeable after bitterness, but there is no required sequence or fixed number of seconds.

Sheng jin (生津) describes increased salivation. It is distinct from sweetness and does not prove that the leaves came from old trees.

Ku (苦) is bitterness. Se (涩) is astringency: a drying, puckering feeling in the mouth. They can occur together but are different sensations. Hua (化), in a tasting note, describes bitterness or astringency fading; it does not mean that they literally turn into sugar.

Finish and how tea makes you feel

Yun (韵) describes an overall character or lingering impression. Yan yun (岩韵) is used for Wuyi rock oolong; Guanyin yun (观音韵), also called yin yun, for Tieguanyin. These are tasting concepts, not tests of geographic origin. “Rock rhyme” does not mean you can identify the minerals of a particular cliff in your cup.

Hou yun (喉韵) refers to a lingering sensation in the throat. People experience and describe it differently.

Cha qi (茶气) is a traditional expression for the subjective effects of tea, with no single measurable quality scale. Cha zui (茶醉), or “tea drunkenness,” is an informal name for unpleasant symptoms after tea, such as nausea or dizziness. Stop drinking if you feel unwell; it is not something to endure for a tasting.

Plants and harvests

Gu shu (古树) means “old trees.” On a label, it is a claim about the raw material. Ask where it was picked and how the tree age was established.

Dan cong (单丛) names a group of Phoenix oolongs from the Chaozhou area of Guangdong. The name has historical links to individual plants, but does not promise that every modern batch comes from one tree. Dan zhu (单株) is a separate claim of material from a single plant.

Ming qian (明前) means picked before Qingming, which falls around 4–5 April. It is a harvest period, not a universal top grade.

Processing

Sha qing (杀青), or fixation, uses heat to reduce the activity of enzymes involved in oxidation. It is not sterilisation.

Men huang (闷黄), or yellowing, is a warm, moist holding stage after fixation in yellow tea production.

Wo dui (渥堆) is moist piling, with microbial activity. Among its uses is making ripe pu-erh from sun-dried maocha. It is different from simply storing finished raw pu-erh for a long time.

Brewing and teaware

A gaiwan (盖碗) is a lidded bowl, usually with a saucer, used for brewing or drinking. A gongdaobei (公道杯) is a serving pitcher: decanting the infusion into it before sharing helps give each cup the same strength.

Zi sha (紫砂) refers to a group of clays and pottery associated with Yixing; it is not all purple. Bao jiang (包浆) means surface patina from use. It does not prove a pot’s age or authenticity, and does not require a buildup of dirty tea deposits.

Cha tang (茶汤) is the brewed liquor. Ye di (叶底) means the infused leaves: useful for examining leaf shape and maturity, but not for proving tree age.

Xi cha (洗茶) is a brief rinse before brewing. Not every tea needs one, and it does not guarantee removal of pesticides or caffeine. Gongfu cha (功夫茶; also 工夫茶) is careful brewing in small quantities, often with a relatively high leaf-to-water ratio and short, repeated infusions.

Questions and answers

Should a good tea have all these qualities?

No. Use the terms to describe what you notice, not as a checklist of required sensations. “Sweet finish, slightly drying” is a useful tasting note.

Can hui gan or cha qi establish quality?

No single sensation can. Consider aroma, flavour, how the tea brews and whether you enjoy it. Verifying origin requires information about the batch as well as tasting.