Question about a flavor descriptor

[Odinsfury]

I tend to like that strong vegetal or grassy taste in Japanese greens, but not so strong that it tastes like you left the leaves in too long or steeped them too hot. Is that taste what people refer to as astringency?

[woozl]

Astringency is that tart feeling on your tongue.
When in balance it is engaging as in nice 1st flush darj. or some senchas.
When over brewed it becomes drying and "sandpaper" like.
Some Assams are so astringent they beg for milk.

[scruffmcgruff]

Licking/chewing the inside of a banana peel gives you the sensation most commonly understood to be astringency.

[Odinsfury]

Ok, I'm going to try that right now. Should I chew on the peel or just lick it?

[Ryoruki]

for me oversteeped tea usually tastes bitter rather than astringent

i think astringent is like eating a green apple, where as bitter is more like basil or aloe

[Space Samurai]

To me astringency is more of a feeling than a taste, more of a texture.

[woozl]

"Should I chew on the peel or just lick it?"

I usually smoke the banana peels.

...oops wrong forum....

Carry on

[Susana]

Space Samurai is right.

In the wine and tea tasting communities it is described as a feeling of pucker.

When I let certain Chinese greens oversteep, it feels like sharp somewhat abrasive textured plant fibers out to get my mouth.

[silvermage2000]

I would think because overbrewing to me is when the tea gets bitter.

[Salsero]

While bitter can occur in tea, most often astringency is what people mean when they are talking about tea.

Bitter is a taste. Strictly speaking there are only 4 tastes -- sweet, sour, bitter, salty -- unless you count umami, then there are 5. More complex so-called "tastes" are actually sensed through the nose, which discerns a far broader spectrum of sensations than does taste.

Astringency is a feeling, a drying, puckering mouthfeel, sometimes described as "sandpapery." Red wines often have high astringency. In moderate amounts, astringency can be pleasant in tea; in large amounts, it can make it undrinkable, like in some very young sheng puerhs, some Dan Cong, famously in Assam, or if you oversteep most kinds of tea. I often refer to excess astringency as roughness on the mouth or throat.

Nigel Melican once wrote, "BITTER is the taste sensation of chewing grapefruit skin. ASTRINGENT is the taste sensation from chewing underripe banana skin." I have yet to try either experiment.

BITTER: tonic water, unsweetened chocolate, beer, olives, citrus peel, coffee

ASTRINGENT: the dry, puckering mouth feel, sandpapery feel, green banana peel, persimmon, red wine, concord grapes

[Odinsfury]

Thanks for all the feedback. I think I have a better understanding now.