What I meant was a catalogue of memories of tastes and aromas. I used
the word "tasting vocabulary" as a short form. The more memories of
distinct tastes you have, the better you can discriminate between
different teas, and the more significant each experience of tea
becomes. It is like learning a new language.

At first there is only a torrent of sound, which can barely be
distinguished from gibberish. Next comes a stage where one knows the
basic words and where a given sentence has meaning and can be
distinguished from another sentence. Then competence where coherent
speech is possible. Eventually fluency where each subtle shade of
difference and meaning is clear. The neophyte can hardly tell black
tea from green. The novice can discern the difference between the
categories (black, green, white, oolong, etc). The journeyman, can
identify regions and styles. The master knows the estate, the season,
the variance in processing techniques and whatnot.

Regards,

Cameron


Michael Plant wrote in message ...
Cameron 11/10/04


Mmmmm.... Bai Hao. Judging nuances in tea is more than just a matter
of good senses. It involves building a tasting vocabulary, something
which can only be done with experience. The more tea you try, the
more distinct each individual tea becomes. It sounds as if you're
well on your way.

Cheers,

Cameron



Cameron,

I wonder. From another viewpoint, judging (experiencing/knowing) the nuances
of tea requires *no* vocabulary whatsoever; expressing and explaining these
nuances to others, and comparing one tea to another requires words.

Michael