10.27.09
Defining quality in tea
posted by Charles Cain | 6 comments
An interesting debate has been raging over the past few years among the tea literati – how do you define quality in tea?
The uninitiated might expect the definition to be something as simple as: “A quality tea is one that represents the ideals of its varietal and production style and offers superior taste and aroma.” But you’d be wrong…that definition no longer applies to a large percentage of tea drinkers.
Today it seems as though “quality” has become all tied up in grey areas of emotion and perception. For many tea drinkers, the mental experience trumps the taste of the tea. I’ll give you three examples:
1. Visit any high-end grocer and a lot of tea shops and you’ll see teas packaged in elaborate containers that often cost nearly as much as the tea inside. Apparently, many tea drinkers have yet to truly appreciate the differences in taste and are still making their buying decisions based on packaging.
2. The incredible explosion of tea options in the U.S. over the past few years has created a group of tea drinkers that are on pilgrimages of discovery, savoring teas for their unique characteristics and nuances rather than their taste. A rare pu-erh, for example, may lose just about every blind taste test among the larger population of tea drinkers, but is prized because it is rare and its flavor profile is so unique.
3. For reasons of world-view and self-image, many contentious tea drinkers are only able to truly enjoy an organic, fair trade tea purchased from a local, independent retailer.
Aside from those retailers that put a $1 worth of tea in a $2 package, I don’t really take issue with any of these. I do worry, however, that the power of marketing may be slowing the spread of tea that actually tastes good. I worry that someone new to tea will be sucked in by packaging, story, or certifications and buy a tea that they don’t really enjoy.
I had the privilege recently of talking at length with the buyer for one of the most respected premium tea companies. He made a statement that shocked me and really gave me a different perspective. He said that this is the first year that he has consistently seen organic green teas that approached the quality (taste) of conventionally grown teas. Now, I was well aware that organic teas cost a lot more (the tea he was showing me retails for more than $25 per ounce). I had not, however, realized that it was nearly impossible to grow top-quality teas in any meaningful volume using organic production techniques.
So it’s good news that organic production techniques have improved to the point that the taste differences are difficult for even an expert to discern. But it’s concerning that all this time people have been paying a significant premium for a tea that just doesn’t taste as good. Don’t get me wrong - I’m not out to destroy the environment for the sake of a rapidly growing industry - but it’s also possible to focus so much on secondary definitions of quality (such as packaging, marketing, and certifications) that the experience of actually drinking the tea disappoints and deters future purchases.
So what does quality mean to you? Are you willing to sacrifice quality for ideals like sustainability? And how much extra are you willing to pay? There’s really no right answer, but it’s been interesting to watch the debate unfold.
October 27th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
I’m afraid flavor is in the eyes of the beholder. Really, organic tea does taste better to someone who is pleased with the origins of that tea. How can an “artificially”-grown tea be convincing to them? I’m into Puerh but I don’t believe what anyone else says about how it tastes. In fact, I go for the spiritual feeling of the Puerh instead of how it tastes unless it’s severely disagreeable. And I just haven’t run into that yet.
October 28th, 2009 at 12:28 am
Interesting comments. Probably 90%+ of our teas are both organic and Fair Trade and we are a local independent. I haven’t found organic teas to be inferior in taste at all, quite the contrary, but I cup every single tea we sell for outstanding taste. We don’t sell teas because of pedigree or reputation either. I switched from selling jasmine pearls to a loose leaf jasmine because it tasted every bit as good and cost less. The point I agree with you on most completely is the packaging issue. There are companies who can afford the marketing budget for a ‘killer’ package and the tea is really pretty ordinary tasting, not even enjoyable. Part of the problem with getting customers interested in specialty tea is that they haven’t tasted teas that are great tasting..but the packaging is knock-out. But then, that is just one frustration of many as a small company that is absolutely fanatical about taste.
October 28th, 2009 at 9:00 am
For me it is the taste. If it doesn’t taste really good, why bother. I have tried some very expensive teas and been very unimpressed. I have to say that as I consciously go about tasting teas, I have found more and more that I like and appreciate. I often go to an Asian market and just scoop up a bunch and see what I like. Sadly, I have found that many organic teas are not as good as non-organics, but I do try to buy organic when I can.I am thrilled that their taste is improving.
November 3rd, 2009 at 4:18 pm
Charles - you ask very important question. For me, taste and organic trump all else. I think that perhaps the buyer you’re speaking of is referring to LARGE scale tea growers, as opposed to small, family farms or cooperatives. When a tea company is huge, they must purchase massive amounts of tea to fill their orders. I’m of the opinion that small growers of organic teas has had very good tasting tea for years now. I’ll be interested to hear your perspective on this point.
November 4th, 2009 at 10:23 am
Michelle - You are absolutely correct - small growers of organic teas have been producing very good teas for years. I would also say that large growers of organic teas have been producing very good teas for years. That said, the BEST TEAS are unmistakably conventionally grown.
In the 2008 World Tea Championship they had had three “Super Categories” for the best Green, Black and Oolong teas regardless of price. Not a single organic tea was entered. Out of 25 total categories, four were won by Organic teas. Those were two Japanese Greens (the Japanese are leaders in organic production techniques and the use of modern technology), an Herbal tea and White tea. In the 2009 competition there were 6 Organic winners out of 26 categories. The competing companies were certainly able to enter small lot teas, so I believe these results to be pretty informative of the current state of the industry… especially since all of the retailers and wholesalers know that the Organic certification is a competitive advantage and so will offer it when possible.
Without getting into a science lecture, I’ll give to pieces of information. First, organic production reduces output by 30% to 40%. As a result, between the reduced output and dramatic bureaucratic burden, you will necessarily pay significant premium for organic teas. Second, the tea plant grows best with a lot of nitrogen. Organic production regulations limit the use of nitrogen thereby preventing the grower from doing what is best for the plant itself. My understanding is that this is a primary reason for the taste advantage that conventional teas have over organics.
Now, let me be clear. I am not suggesting that taste, or what is best for growing tea, should trump environmental concerns. I’m not taking a position in this piece. The only statement I will make is that it seems overly simplistic to apply the same agricultural rules to all crops in all regions.
November 16th, 2009 at 5:16 am
Great post.
It will help me a lot to choose right quality tea. So far i was thinking that the high price tea are good in quality.