On Aug 24, 2:25 am, cha bing > wrote:
> Nigel, Thanks so much for your post. I have been obsessed with
> collecting this type of information lately. So I guess bitterness and
> heat aren't really associated factors in tea. But I have also heard
> that roasting tea makes it sweet in some respects. As I'm trying to
> figure out how roasting affects a tea's taste, I wonder if you'd be
> able to characterize what the "bakey" taste is like. Really, what I am
> looking for is a description of a scale: at one end would be the no-
> roast tea, and at the other would be the "bakey" or "burnt" tea. In
> between would be something that is sweet? Maybe there are too many
> other factors at play to be able to nail down this roasted flavor
> without simply drinking lots of teas and seeing the differences for
> myself.

I will attempt to give you a scale but two caveats he words are
inadequate descriptors of the spectrum of tastes that can be found in
a tea cup. And many "good tastes" become bad when present to excess;
but excess varies widely for different people. Some will bridle at a
slight smokiness in a Yunnan while others cheerfully drink Lapsang
Souchong, the more tarry the better. Roasting is accepted in some
teas but is not in others, hence the degree and type of roasted flavor
can be positive or negative depending on your perspective.

In a well made Assam for instance there is a tendency to maltiness -
this is a flavor produced during drying (also known as firing and to
some as roasting). "Malty" is a sweet positive aroma/taste/flavor
(ISO term 2148 - a desirable characteristic in some teas that have
been fully fired, suggestive of malt or caramel). Slightly further
along the scale or spectrum is "biscuity" (ISO term 2108 - a liquor
having a characteristic reminiscent of biscuits (cookies)) - this is
also seen by some as acceptable in an Assam, though perhaps not in a
Ceylon. Bordering on either side of acceptability we have "fully
fired" (ISO term 2134 - describes the liquor of a tea which has been
slightly over fired during manufacture) and "high fired" (ISO term
2142 - describes the liquor of a tea which has had too much firing.
It is generally undesirable except in the case of certain Darjeelings
where it is a great asset). Into the really unacceptable flavor area
comes "bakey" (ISO term 2107 - an unpleasant characteristic noticeable
in liquors of teas which have been subjected to higher than desirable
temperatures during the firing (drying) operation) and "burnt" (ISO
term 2114 - an undesirable characteristic found in the liquor of teas
which have been subjected to abnormally high temperatures during
firing; a degree worse than "bakey"). Then we have "cooked" (ISO term
2124 - a liquor burnt to such an extent that all other tea
characteristics are hidden) - that's about a bad as it gets. Sweet
(though not really recognized as a tasting term) probably in the above
case tails off with high fired when bitterness creeps in - but again
beware, both sweet and bitter can be present to greater degrees due to
other factors than drying.

ISO tasting terms quoted from international standard ISO 6078-1982
Black Tea - Vocabulary, unfortunately ISO has not produced a standard
for green teas or oolongs

Nigel at Teacraft

Note that these positive characters merging into defects are due just
to a 10-15 degree F difference in dryer temperature.