Where is our teas' aroma?

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Ethan Kurland
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Fri Jun 12, 2020 10:41 am

I have been drinking 3 teas everyday. I will write about aroma for the 3 that I have been drinking for the teas that I have been drinking lately. I hope it leads to some discussion of aroma.

Shanlinxi: The dry leaves almost no scent at all. I don't notice any when I pour hot water on those leaves as they sit in my teapot. When I am emptying the pot into a teacup or server once the pot is about half empty aroma is wonderful. The wet leaves smell sweet & like cooked green vegetables. The aroma is almost entirely on these leaves. I taste the sweetness more than I smelled it while (because of my quick steeping) I taste the greenness less than I smell it. The brew itself has no aroma. I can imagine my breath has sweet, fresh aroma (but I don't know) because of great aftertaste.

Father Love (aged roasted oolong): When I first open a packet, I sometimes smell the roast and/or notes of green oolong or dried fruit. Sometimes I open packs & smell nothing. After the leaves sit in a caddy for a few days, when I lift the lid I smell chocolate. When hot water covers the leaves I smell the roast & hints of tart fruit & sometimes other fruits (not anyway chocolate). The brew is a better & stronger version of the aroma as tasted flavors.

Alishan Black: The dry leaves in the caddy have a pleasant unique aroma. This aroma (perhaps a blend of the flavors that can no longer be picked out) is not what one smells or tastes. The aroma of the wet leaves is of flavors I associate with well-oxidized red oolong. The brew smells slightly different in a cup than in the teapot. The taste if prepared perfectly is of these flavors alone & in good balance with a touch of black tea sweetness & strength. If too many leaves are used or too much steeping time, the brew will taste bitter; wet leaves that had smelled delicious to me will seem to smell burnt. (Of course that is a reaction to being offput by a ruined session.)
Noonie
Posts: 360
Joined: Tue Dec 12, 2017 12:30 pm
Location: Ontario, Canada

Fri Jun 12, 2020 7:57 pm

Good topic @Ethan Kurland. We talk about aroma in passing, usually focused on taste, but I find aroma can be quite impactful.

Some teas have such wonderful aroma upon opening the package and smelling the dry leaf. Others not so much, until brewed, or even then aroma is faint. Then there is the taste, which despite the amount of aroma, can vary. I find it's usually particular types of teas that mainly have common aroma characteristics, but tastes can be quite different.

Some examples from my general experience:

- most sencha has that wonderful grassy, bright and sometimes sweet, or floral, aroma. Of all the teas I drink regularly, sencha to me has the most enjoyable aroma upon opening...a little less appealing past the first brew
- sheng has a really good aroma, distinct from other teas, from the time you smell the cake to like the 4th or 5th steeping. And the liquor has a nice aroma too. Usually very aromatic
- each shou I drink has a different aroma. Deep/dark, maybe woody or earthy, but they all smell so distinct
- roasted dong ding has a subtle aroma of charcoal, but sweet at the same time. I find the leaves of most ball oolongs gets better with each steep, until it plateaus and then fades
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