▪ Aromatic: A liqueur that is strong and high in flavour

▪ Astringent: Harsh and rough quality in the mouth, caused by tannins

▪ Biting: A tea which is both astringent and sour leaving a strong and lasting impression

▪ Bitter: one of the five flavours. Normal for teas high in tannin. Bitterness has the tendency to develop if the tea is left to infuse for too long.

▪ Body: A beverage that marries a good constitution (robust) with warm aromas

▪ Complex: A very rich mix of aromas, of great subtlety

▪ Creamy: Same as mellow

▪ Delicacy: Quality of a delicate liqueur with many, subtle aromas

▪ Flavourful: A liqueur with strong, rich flavours

▪ Flowing: A smooth, pleasant beverage, with no harshness. Used to refer to teas with a low tannin content.

▪ Frank: Teas whose characteristics (colour, scent, flavours, aromas) are well defined and express themselves unfailingly and without ambiguity

▪ Fresh: Slightly sour teas that give a feeling of freshness

▪ Frivolous: Teas that are both rich in aromas and short in the mouth that give a feeling of fleetingness

▪ Full in the mouth: Gives a very pleasant sensation and filling the mouth well

▪ Full-bodied: A beverage that has body

▪ Generous: Rich in aromas, while not being tiring, which can be the case with heady teas

▪ Glutinous: One of the five flavours, never found in tea. It can be detected above all in a majority of Asian dishes since it is associated with the presence of glutamates in food

▪ Greenness: A fresh and green quality

▪ Harsh: a biting sensation, a little rough, caused by tannins

▪ Heady: A beverage that is high in spicy and flowery aromas

▪ Invigorating: A young, green tea, where there is a pronounced sour note

▪ Iodised: A note found in certain teas such as Japanese green teas

▪ Light: A tea that is not very full-bodied, with a low tannin content

▪ Lively: A tea whose characteristics are well defined, with a slight hint of sourness

▪ Long in the mouth: A tea in which the aromas leave a pleasant and long-lasting impression in the front and the back of the mouth after tasting

▪ Mellow: A tea that is both round in the mouth and slightly sour.

▪ Mild: Flavour is slightly sweet, punctured perhaps by a hint of acidity, but which have no astringency

▪ Odorous: A beverage or an infusion with many strong scents

▪ Pointed: Same as sharp

▪ Powerful: A full-bodied, long-lasting liqueur

▪ Raw: Green and sourer than the average

▪ Refined: A tea whose scents, flavours and aromas are both delicate and subtle

▪ Robust: A predominantly tannic beverage, which fills the mouth well

▪ Rough: Very astringent, often of bad quality or else has been infused for far too long

▪ Round: A liqueur in which the smoothness and mellowness give an impression of roundness in the mouth

▪ Roundness: The quality of a liqueur that fills the mouth in a spherical way

▪ Salted: One of the five senses. Non-existent in tea that contains absolutely no sodium

▪ Sharp: A very lively beverage, which has an obvious fresh and sour note, almost spicy, and in which each aroma is delicately expressed

▪ Short in the mouth: Leaving few traces in the front or the back of the mouth after tasting

▪ Silky: Aa smooth and mellow tea, with a touch of harmony, bringing to mind the smoothness of silk

▪ Slippery: Same as flowing

▪ Smooth: A beverage without harshness, owing to the lack of tannins

▪ Sour: One of the five flavours. Found in some green teas, Oolong & spring Darjeeling, which gives freshness and liveliness

▪ Strong: A rather vague term, which usually denotes a full-bodied, highly coloured liqueur

▪ Sturdy: A tea whose constitution is very robust, a quality that can be softened with milk

▪ Supple: A liqueur where the mellowness overcomes the astringency.

▪ Sustained: An aroma that stays in the mouth for a long time

▪ Sweet: One of the five flavours, detected in certain very light, green teas from China. Rather rare, except in Ama Cha

▪ Tannic: A liqueur with a high tannin content

▪ Velvety: A smooth, velvety liqueur, almost sweet

▪ Vigorous: A tea that is both astringent and lively, whose presence is immediately felt in the mouth

▪ Vivacious: A fresh, light beverage with a hint of sourness that is slightly dominant. All in all very pleasant

▪ Voluptuous: A beverage that is full, round and long-lasting in the mouth

▪ Warm: Spicy, woody aromas married to flavour that is totally lacking in acidity

▪ Young: Teas that were plucked early and which have a green, slightly sour character