Tea cupping is a process of tasting and evaluating the quality of loose leaf tea. Tea cupping is a process that includes a number steps and is a vitally important method because tea quality varies widely. Tea cupping is a combination of art and science that is used by tea lovers throughout the world to maintain tea quality and tea drinking satisfaction.

Even tea from the same shipment, tea garden and processing batch can differ in taste and tea cupping is an ideal way to ensure quality control. In addition, for many tea drinkers, the knowledge that a tea supplier properly cups its tea adds to the tea drinking experience.

The benefits of tea cupping enable the tea drinker to choose the best tea for their taste and wise tea drinkers buy tea from suppliers who cup each and every imported chest of tea.

Sample Steps of Tea Cupping- A Black Tea Example

The term cupping is used to describe the examination and tasting of different teas to determine quality, taste, aroma, briskness, body and color. Cupping similar teas and comparing them against each other enables one to determine best value when making a purchase. Cupping a tea by itself will help you understand the characteristics of that particular tea.

Professional tasters use similar methods in cupping teas. Consistency is the most important part of cupping. If one begins to develop a certain way of cupping teas, it is important to maintain that method for all teas.

Before the tea is tasted however, a physical inspection of the leaves is performed and attention to the bouquet of the sample is also part of the process. In essence, proper cupping is based upon an understanding of the total presentation of the tea leaf.

Appearance and Smell of the Dried Leaf

First, examine the dried leaf. Black tea for example, should be dark (blackish-brown) and well twisted, which indicates good withering. An open, flat leaf infuses quickly; a closely twisted leaf takes longer to infuse and will give a better second cup. In general, the leaf should be small, hard, well rolled, and uniform in appearance.

The dry leaves can be squeezed to test the resilience of the leaf, which is an indication of young tea. This method of judging the quality of tea is only used for black teas. The appearance and smell of the dried leaf are not determining factors of quality in green and oolong teas.

Following the preliminary cupping steps, the tea is ready for the tasting part of the process.

Generally speaking, the same care involved with the examination of the unsteeped tea leaves must be maintained during the steeping process.

Pure Water is Required

Purified, oxygenated water is best when preparing your tea for tasting. Use water that has all minerals and other contaminants removed and oxygen added to ensure a fresh clean taste. Remove contaminants because even fresh, clean water contains minerals that affect the taste of tea.. Fill a kettle with water and bring to a boil.

Use the Proper Amount of Tea

Tea is measured per cup by weight not volume. Depending on the size of the tea and the extent the tea is processed teas of equal weight may vary in their volumes. To prepare your tea for cupping, pour two grams (approximately the same weight as a U.S. dime) into a six to eight ounce cup and pour the fresh boiling water directly onto the leaves.

Observe Steeping Time Limits – Don’t Over Steep

The steeping process which releases the flavor from the tea leaves has a certain time limit. After five minutes of steeping, the acids in the leaf begin to steep into the cup creating a bitter taste.

Next, examine a weak infusion of tea. If black or oolong tea has not been fermented long enough, the infusion will be conspicuously bright in color and the leaf will have a green tint. A dark green infusion indicates insufficient withering and over-fermentation. An infused tea with a green-yellow tint indicates pungency and a rich golden leaf signifies quality; a reddish leaf indicates full rich liquor, while a dark leaf will produce a low-grade common tea.

Perfect black tea will be full, rich, and thick looking in the cup, rich in color with a bright, sparkling appearance immediately after pouring. Oolong teas will turn cloudy or “cream down” as the tea cools.

A green tea that has a clear green-yellow of green-golden color in a weak infusion is a young, early picked leaf. A dull, lifeless dark yellow color denotes old or low-grade tea. The lighter the liquor, the younger the leaf and the better the tea is. Smell the weak infusion to get some indication of the character of the tea and to detect possible burning during firing.

Please note that some teas require a longer steeping time (seven minutes for Oolongs) and some teas require a shorter steeping time (three to four minutes for green teas and Darjeelings). At the end of the prescribed time, pour off the tea from the leaves to halt the steeping.

Specific Requirements for Different Types of Tea

As with any rule, there are exceptions. The instructions listed above will be used for nearly every black tea you taste. However, some teas require a different process to bring out the true flavor of the leaf.

Green and White Teas: Green and white teas do not require you to fully boil the water. Pour the water from the kettle just before the water comes to a rolling boil (175° to 185° F). Also these teas usually take less time to steep. Three to four minutes is sufficient.

Oolong Teas: Finer oolongs have a very large, unbroken leaf. As a result, they usually need more time in the hot water to fully release the flavonols or catechins, which give the tea its flavor.

One of the great things about tea is its ability to be something different to every one who tries it.

These suggestions for cupping teas are broad guidelines… No one way will ever be considered the only way to taste and cup teas. Experiment, with other types of teas with different amounts and different steeping times. The most important part of cupping teas is consistency. If there is one thing that is certain, it is that teas will change flavor when you change the brewing method and times.

Flavor Characteristics of the Drinking Infusion

The final step is to taste the flavor of the tea infusion. Cupped tea is described in three main ways. The first is the briskness, the second is the body, and the third is the aroma.

Briskness: Does your mouth pucker?

Body: Does the tea fill your mouth?

Aroma: Does the tea have a robust aroma?

Answering these questions will give an indication of the quality of the tea.

After cupping a number of tea samples you will learn a great deal about tea and tea quality. Cupping is an ongoing process that pays dividends if you enjoy high quality tea.

Always try to purchase tea from a supplier that cups every shipment of tea. Thos will ensure that you receive the highest quality product with the greatest amount of tea enjoyment.

Jon M. Stout is the Chairman of the Golden Moon Tea Company. Golden Moon Tea carefully selects the finest rare and orthodox teas, which are processed slowly and handcrafted with extreme care. At their website, you can learn more about their current tea offerings, including their exceptional green tea [http://www.goldenmoontea.com/greentea/], white tea, black tea, oolong tea (also known as wu-long and wu long tea [http://www.goldenmoontea.com/wu-long/]) and chai. Visit goldenmoontea.com for all details concerning the Golden Moon Tea Company’s fine line of teas.