mouthfeel
I really love full-bodied teas, but reviewers usually neglect mouthfeel in favor of taste. What is the best tea you've ever had, in terms of mouthfeel?
Re: mouthfeel
Probably a Darjeeling. But that is a quality I lean towards even in Oolongs.cha cha cha wrote:I really love full-bodied teas, but reviewers usually neglect mouthfeel in favor of taste. What is the best tea you've ever had, in terms of mouthfeel?
And I especially look for whites that are "fuller" too.
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Oct 18th, '08, 18:29
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Mouthfeel, weight, body, heartiness, and viscosity. The Wikipedia article on Taste refers to kokumi:
More of it seems always to point to better tea in every other respect also, and better quality tea is more likely to have more mouthfeel. I can't remember ever having a lousy tea that still had nice weight in the mouth.
I find it mostly in Taiwan green oolongs, especially in Bao Zhong (Pouchong), good sheng puerh, and most Japanese green teas. Black teas and oxidized or roasted oolongs tend to disappoint me for not having a lot of it, though they do usually provide heavier, fuller flavors or aromas to make up for it.
Gyokuro, as Chip mentions, has science fiction levels of weight, mouthfeel, body or whatever you want to call it. Curiously, I don't notice it in matcha, but then I have never had koicha. I am assuming that Olivierco is referring to the thick matcha and not to soup made of koi.
- Some Japanese researchers refer to the kokumi in foods
laden with alcohol- and thiol-groups in their amino acid
extracts which has been described variously as continuity,
mouthfulness, mouthfeel, and thickness.
More of it seems always to point to better tea in every other respect also, and better quality tea is more likely to have more mouthfeel. I can't remember ever having a lousy tea that still had nice weight in the mouth.
I find it mostly in Taiwan green oolongs, especially in Bao Zhong (Pouchong), good sheng puerh, and most Japanese green teas. Black teas and oxidized or roasted oolongs tend to disappoint me for not having a lot of it, though they do usually provide heavier, fuller flavors or aromas to make up for it.
Gyokuro, as Chip mentions, has science fiction levels of weight, mouthfeel, body or whatever you want to call it. Curiously, I don't notice it in matcha, but then I have never had koicha. I am assuming that Olivierco is referring to the thick matcha and not to soup made of koi.
Oct 20th, '08, 22:48
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>More of it seems always to point to better tea in every other respect also, and >better quality tea is more likely to have more mouthfeel.
I agree with Salsero here. There is a direct correlation between tea quality and mouthfeel. Thanks for pointing out the amino acids, I will have to look into that.
>...even in Oolongs. (victoria)
>oxidized or roasted oolongs tend to disappoint me for not having a lot of it (Salsero)
I agree that Oolongs often lack mouthfeel, but I think that this is at least partially due to quality issues. Certain oolongs are harvest twice or even four times per year, and the Spring tea usually has the best mouthfeel, while the autumn tea is more fragrant, but somewhat insipid when it comes to mouthfeel.
I still think it is a question of the quality of the tea. Taiwan oolongs have been mentioned as having a better mouthfeel, and most of the people posting here have mentioned one sort of green tea or another. The mainland Chinese tea market is so vast, and there was a gap in tea culture in many places after 1949. Lots of tea producers can make a mediocre tea and still make ends meet.
In Taiwan and Japan, there is not much land available for tea. Labour is expensive and there is a long, unbroken tradition of tea and appreciating good tea. Competition is fierce, and if your tea is second rate a similar quality tea can imported from outside for a lot cheaper.
Many people have mentioned Gyokuro as the tea with the best mouthfeel. I have read that Japanese tea in the best gardens is fertilized sometimes ten times per year with eight-fifteen different kinds of fertilizers. Gyokuro is fertilized more than regular tea, and it is also grown in indirect sunlight for almost a month before it is harvested to push nutrients into the leaves and increase chlorophyll production, etc. Maybe all this extra trouble to produce the best leaf possible results in such a great mouthfeel.
My "mouthfeel theory" is something I came up with myself. No teamaster taught me, so I am not sure if its 'right' or 'wrong.' Salsero's opinion seems to corroborate my opinion, but I would love to hear what other people think/have read/been told.
I agree with Salsero here. There is a direct correlation between tea quality and mouthfeel. Thanks for pointing out the amino acids, I will have to look into that.
>...even in Oolongs. (victoria)
>oxidized or roasted oolongs tend to disappoint me for not having a lot of it (Salsero)
I agree that Oolongs often lack mouthfeel, but I think that this is at least partially due to quality issues. Certain oolongs are harvest twice or even four times per year, and the Spring tea usually has the best mouthfeel, while the autumn tea is more fragrant, but somewhat insipid when it comes to mouthfeel.
I still think it is a question of the quality of the tea. Taiwan oolongs have been mentioned as having a better mouthfeel, and most of the people posting here have mentioned one sort of green tea or another. The mainland Chinese tea market is so vast, and there was a gap in tea culture in many places after 1949. Lots of tea producers can make a mediocre tea and still make ends meet.
In Taiwan and Japan, there is not much land available for tea. Labour is expensive and there is a long, unbroken tradition of tea and appreciating good tea. Competition is fierce, and if your tea is second rate a similar quality tea can imported from outside for a lot cheaper.
Many people have mentioned Gyokuro as the tea with the best mouthfeel. I have read that Japanese tea in the best gardens is fertilized sometimes ten times per year with eight-fifteen different kinds of fertilizers. Gyokuro is fertilized more than regular tea, and it is also grown in indirect sunlight for almost a month before it is harvested to push nutrients into the leaves and increase chlorophyll production, etc. Maybe all this extra trouble to produce the best leaf possible results in such a great mouthfeel.
My "mouthfeel theory" is something I came up with myself. No teamaster taught me, so I am not sure if its 'right' or 'wrong.' Salsero's opinion seems to corroborate my opinion, but I would love to hear what other people think/have read/been told.