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This literally means ... of all the 9 types of tea in China, to understand tea, you first need to understand fragrance.
Do you agree or disagree with this statement??
Discussion: Is fragrance important?
I think a definition of the word in question is in order, before it can be answered, according to the dictionary fragrance is: the quality of being fragrant; a sweet or pleasing scent.
Now to the question. For me, fragrance is only one of the factors which define any given tea. Scent, or to put it into the larger context, sensations which are analysed by the brain do come via the nose, which as we have learned in previous discussions, is of the utmost importance as to how we perceive the taste of a tea.
Blocked nose or impeded sense of smell equals a bad tea experience.
Mouthfeel, aftertaste, effect on the body, endurance of the tea itself are all important factors for understanding any tea. I do not think it is an exclusive thing for Chinese teas (whichever those 9 teas are). But universal. Concerning any food or drink.
Now to the question. For me, fragrance is only one of the factors which define any given tea. Scent, or to put it into the larger context, sensations which are analysed by the brain do come via the nose, which as we have learned in previous discussions, is of the utmost importance as to how we perceive the taste of a tea.
Blocked nose or impeded sense of smell equals a bad tea experience.
Mouthfeel, aftertaste, effect on the body, endurance of the tea itself are all important factors for understanding any tea. I do not think it is an exclusive thing for Chinese teas (whichever those 9 teas are). But universal. Concerning any food or drink.
i'm interested in hearing an explanation from someone who disagrees that fragrance is important
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Ethan Kurland
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You smell something. You like it, dislike it, or don't react noticeably. That is it, for me anyway. You consume something. Tastes good or not, etc. Feels good or not.
Knowing the tea's endurance etc. is necessary to assess its value. Complexity may make it more interesting as a tea drunk for years.
Cheers
Knowing the tea's endurance etc. is necessary to assess its value. Complexity may make it more interesting as a tea drunk for years.
Cheers
I think there are two separate questions here...
The quote in question appears to be stating that in order to understand tea, not enjoy tea, fragrance is most important. I think that the topic subject and several of the comments are geared more towards the importance of fragrance when it comes to enjoying tea and perhaps describing quality.
For the latter point - Fragrance is obviously important for two reasons:
1. If it smells bad, it will be very hard to enjoy.
2. As Bok mentioned, fragrance significantly affects taste, and therefore you need a good fragrance for a good taste.
However, I'd suggest that fragrance isn't the 'most' important. After all, there are many teas that smell divine, but the taste and overall experience is only so-so. Of course, we all know this here, and it is why we all appreciate tea. It is a complex drink that can't be described by any single factor. You need fragrance, taste, mouthfeel, huigan, etc. to all line up to create a wonderful tea. If any element is missing, then the tea will fall far below its potential.
Without fragrance, a tea is not properly primed, the taste is weaker, and (sense olfactory is the largest trigger of memory) the tea is not easily remembered.
Without taste the tea is not fully enjoyed.
Without mouthfeel the tea is too water-like, it doesn't coat the mouth and leave the drinker with a 'full' and 'complete' feeling.
Without huigan the tea disappears when it is swallowed, and is quickly forgotten and/or leaves the drinker longing for more.
I'm sure many here could elaborate on all this further.
As for understanding tea, as opposed to experiencing tea, I disagree. Unless one has a super nose, it will be very difficult to differentiate between different quality teas from smell alone. Many similar teas will have a similar smell, but leave the drinker with a very different experience.
The quote in question appears to be stating that in order to understand tea, not enjoy tea, fragrance is most important. I think that the topic subject and several of the comments are geared more towards the importance of fragrance when it comes to enjoying tea and perhaps describing quality.
For the latter point - Fragrance is obviously important for two reasons:
1. If it smells bad, it will be very hard to enjoy.
2. As Bok mentioned, fragrance significantly affects taste, and therefore you need a good fragrance for a good taste.
However, I'd suggest that fragrance isn't the 'most' important. After all, there are many teas that smell divine, but the taste and overall experience is only so-so. Of course, we all know this here, and it is why we all appreciate tea. It is a complex drink that can't be described by any single factor. You need fragrance, taste, mouthfeel, huigan, etc. to all line up to create a wonderful tea. If any element is missing, then the tea will fall far below its potential.
Without fragrance, a tea is not properly primed, the taste is weaker, and (sense olfactory is the largest trigger of memory) the tea is not easily remembered.
Without taste the tea is not fully enjoyed.
Without mouthfeel the tea is too water-like, it doesn't coat the mouth and leave the drinker with a 'full' and 'complete' feeling.
Without huigan the tea disappears when it is swallowed, and is quickly forgotten and/or leaves the drinker longing for more.
I'm sure many here could elaborate on all this further.
As for understanding tea, as opposed to experiencing tea, I disagree. Unless one has a super nose, it will be very difficult to differentiate between different quality teas from smell alone. Many similar teas will have a similar smell, but leave the drinker with a very different experience.
The statement leaves a lot open. I think the fragrance of the dry leaf tea is not important in understanding the tea. In blind tasting tests the dry leaf smell really means nothing imo. I have had awesome smelling dry leaf that didn't equate to the tea at all(or quality of tea). It doesn't really give me any clue into the tea. Wet leaf of the tea is interesting. I think it can give some insight into the tea and i think is more interesting in how sometimes it can differ. Othertimes it helps clarify a complex tea liquor taste/smell that i can't quite pin down. I think tea liquor is the highest form of importance for tea fragrance. it is literally the last thing you smell before drinking and usually equates to the taste of the tea.
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Ethan Kurland
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Lots of astute comments here. Fragrance of leaves right after being hit with hot water is sometimes such a wonderful appetizer that gets me primed to enjoy drinking.
Nice and useful categorization, choffman. Another guy on teaforum who knows a lot. Cheers
Nice and useful categorization, choffman. Another guy on teaforum who knows a lot. Cheers
This discussion is based on an incorrect translation. This translates more or less to:我国茶香有九种，懂香才懂茶。
This literally means ... of all the 9 types of tea in China, to understand tea, you first need to understand fragrance.
"There are 9 types of fragrances in Chinese teas. One must understand fragrance to understand tea."
I am sure the article then goes on to elaborate on the nine different types of fragrance categories they believe to be in tea. The better question would be, "Do you agree with the 9 fragrance categories in this article?" or perhaps "Do these categories really matter for a better understanding of tea?"
My answer to that question would be maybe.
In the same way that Professor Deng Shihai famously made his categories for the different types of Camphor fragrance (樟香), many of his friends, critics, and colleagues had very different interpretations.
Chinese articles often get reposted many places. The nine categories are most likely some rendition of the following:
1. 毫香型 (bud fragrance or the fragrance inherent to those hairy buds when they are steeped)
2. 嫩香型 Fresh/Tender fragrance (A fresh fragrance that appears as a soft new scent in tea leaves)
3. 花香型 Floral Fragrance (This category should be pretty obvious)
4. 果香型 Fruit fragrance
5. 清香型 Delicate fragrance (Faint delicate scent often seen in picks of 1 bud and 2 to 3 leaf. Often attributed to green tea)
6. 甜香型 Sweet Fragrance (With many different identifications such as: 果香, sweet flower 甜花 dried fruit 乾 果香 , honey 蜜糖香 etc
7. 火香型 Fire fragrance (attributed to larger coarser leaf put to roast, leaving scents of rice cake 米糕香, caramel 焦糖香 etc)
8. 陳醇香型 Aged/Mellow fragrance (Like that of aged pu'er, or other roasted teas/more stemmy teas. Pu'er and Liubao are used as example teas)
9. 松菸香型 Pine-smoke fragrance (as seen in some souchong, liubao, etc. Considered as a generalized smokey-fragrance)
That's a quick summary of the 9 fragrances I found in most articles. It is important to note that "fragrance" in Chinese (香) does not just mean how a tea smells necessarily. Without trying to dive too deep here, just imagine it can be attributed to taste as well - or at least the fragrances that occur when tasting at any point in the process. Honestly for a Western audience, it may almost be more appropriate to think of the Chinese fragrance categories as loosely associated with what you might consider "flavor profiles." I hope that for general purposes this doesn't upset anyone too much.
Also, I definitely am not saying I agree with the 9 categories listed. They are obviously subjective like most things but seem to be broadly accepted categories for tea tasting.
Here is a link to the article I am using
As a Chinese teacher and casual translator, I understand that there are many ways to interpret a text. Please excuse any differences you may find, or point out stronger translations if you find them necessary or appropriate to a better understanding! Have a good day everyone!
edits for formatting/clarity
Last edited by S_B on Thu Dec 13, 2018 5:56 pm, edited 6 times in total.
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terrarosa81
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This is quite an interesting post! And many extremely informative answers! The op's comments too are very well thought out and explained. I am relatively new to tea so my view points are still developing and I am learning.
I will say though that the idea of "fragrance" or "flavor profile" being one in the same make sense to me. My brother has had some serious sinus issues since he was born and has had several surgeries to try to repair the damage. He unfortunately has a very diminished sense of smell due to this. He's explained to me that he can't really taste or distinguish delicate flavors because of this. Tea for instance has no appeal to him because it mostly all taste bland to him. There's not much distinguishing flavors to appeal to him. Nothing is prominent enough to translate into a complex flavor profile. Of course he could have a more muted pallet, it would be impossible to know because he's always had these issues. But he does believe that his lack of smelling capabilities is the issue. It's always made me appreciative of my delicate sense of smell, so I can enjoy the complexities of different teas.
I will say though that the idea of "fragrance" or "flavor profile" being one in the same make sense to me. My brother has had some serious sinus issues since he was born and has had several surgeries to try to repair the damage. He unfortunately has a very diminished sense of smell due to this. He's explained to me that he can't really taste or distinguish delicate flavors because of this. Tea for instance has no appeal to him because it mostly all taste bland to him. There's not much distinguishing flavors to appeal to him. Nothing is prominent enough to translate into a complex flavor profile. Of course he could have a more muted pallet, it would be impossible to know because he's always had these issues. But he does believe that his lack of smelling capabilities is the issue. It's always made me appreciative of my delicate sense of smell, so I can enjoy the complexities of different teas.