茶游于嘴

In the most well known Chinese web media, they mentioned the taste of tea is bitter, however it won’t stay on the bitterness. But, is it correct for Chinese fine quality teas? Perhaps the text written in the ShenNong BenCao Jing about tea – “the basic character of tea is bitter” – has been misunderstood that many people think the taste of tea should be bitter. Let’s face it, who in the world like bitterness in food or drink by knowing it can be bitter?

As matter of fact, the taste of fine quality tea provides you a sensual tasting experience:

Once it enters the mouth, the tip of tongue will be charmed by its gentle smoothness and mild sweetness, it tranvels further to the middle on the tonque and gradually spreading to both sides, glidely simulate the water in mouth at the side end, then turns back to the front to enjoy the mild astringency and sweetness under the tonque. In other word, tea polyphenols, amino acid, tea tannin, tea polysaccarides and natural frangrance substances will play around by turning in the mouth before swallowing. The taste of fine quality teas will not lock our throat because excessive bitterness or strong astringency that the body dislikes.

The first impression of excessive bitterness in taste could prevail several problems:

  1. Problem in the tea production process due to one who make tea fail to produce tea by knowing tea
  2. One who brew tea fail to brew tea by acknowleding tea that fail to bring out the best characters that we can appreicate from the tea taste, often the tea has excessively brewed in the brewing process.
  3. Gushu has very rich biochemical compounds in tea leaves, brewer does need to pay attention on the brewing process.

看到国内媒体提到茶是先苦，但并不会停留在苦上。 但是中国好茶是真的应该先苦吗？ 其实神农本草经中提到”茶性本苦”这一句或许误导许多人以为茶必须苦才好。试问，世上谁明知苦而爱吃苦?

其实好茶一入口它的微甜滑顺立刻会让我们舌动，微涩在舌中间逐渐转化散开，刺激两翼生风，再转回; 换句话讲茶多酚、茶氨酸、茶碱、茶多糖与芬香物质在我们还没吞下去前先在我们的嘴裡会转化，游玩了一圈后再入胃。而不是锁喉让我们喉咙不舒服，身体会排斥的苦涩。

茶一入嘴就会有苦味显现的问题原因可能有三：

  1. 制茶者未能知茶制茶，在制茶工艺中出现的品质问题。
  2. 泡茶者未能识茶泡茶，未能好好掌控泡茶过程而未能让茶展现茶汤之美。
  3. 茶叶内涵物非常丰富，而被泡茶者忽视，把茶泡的太浓了。


copyrighted Mei Lan Hsiao, 萧美兰