Tea Flavor Compass: Towards the Fruity & Floral

Post Reply
User avatar
Kawaramono
Posts: 11
Joined: Sun May 21, 2023 10:08 am
Location: Northeastern US

Sat May 27, 2023 9:33 pm

Hello seasoned taste explorers of Tea Forum; I seek your guidance and wisdom...

I hope those more experienced than me can help orient my "flavor compass" towards teas of a particular expression that I have become infatuated with seeking, and if I am so lucky, drinking: teas that exhibit Fruitiness & Florality as their main in-cup components.

I pose my question in that particular way for a few reasons: I often find that many teas (especially "rarer" or hyper-regional varieties) will be described by vendors in more broad sensory ways, sometimes even in opaque philosophical terms. Those are valuable and I don't mean to discredit that type of tea mindset, but for those of us with sensitive / specific palates and fewer stamps in our tea passports to use as a guide, its a broad world out there to lose yourself, and the remainder of your wallet, in rather quickly --- Secondly, I find that due to the large number of variables that exist within growing+processing tea, many tea varieties will be said to "generally" possess certain qualities, but that particular quality may be largely overshadowed or disappear altogether with a deeper roast, under/over oxidation, elevation change, picking season etc >>> so depending on the variable we seek, the recommendation may jump across a broad spectrum of tea types and varieties, or require super specific processing and terroir suggestions / red herrings to avoid: hence the "flavor compass" idea. I'm hoping you guys can "point me in the right direction(s)" as broadly or as laser-pointer-specific as the given parameters dictate. It would be fun to "run the compass" with other taste or sensory parameters in the future; but for the foreseeable future, fruity and floral is all that my heart sees :P

To be specific, this is what I'm looking for

- Upfront fruity and/or floral flavors as the dominant taste component
- "nectar/perfume water vibes"
- generally brighter presentation (light, sweet, tangy, treble)
- bonus points for fresh and "lighter fruit" flavors (melon, apricot, nectarine, peach, lychee, green grape); though darker (fresh) fruit also welcome

X Not Roasty/Woody/Earthy
X Not Vegetal/Herbaceous
X Not Spice/Nutty



For context, I could be considered a relatively new tea drinker who is early in their journey - however my taste and sensory perception is sharp, as is my attentiveness during sessions. So far I've had some chance Mi Lan Xiang-type Dancongs with strong lychee notes that I thoroughly enjoyed and will be seeking out further (looking at you tea habitat & hojo), certain aged/whites possessing a creamy floral oat melon quality (while other seemingly comparable whites were firmly in hay/autumn leaves territory, fruit out of sight), an indescript "fujian red" that contained dominant apricot flavor, and some high mountain taiwanese oolongs that flirted with the quested profile, enough to wonder if particular mountain terroir / processing styles will land me the dominantly fruity/floral cups that I so desperately seek :D

I know teas like this are out there, and I would really love some suggestions of particular styles that reliably land within those parameters! Taking as broad or as hyper-specific of suggestions as it takes (XYZ variety/cultivar/terroir/processing/grower/vendor/brew parameter/etc.). For your efforts, I'll pay you back immediately in spiritual karma, and hopefully someday more tangibly with my own contributed tea knowledge to share with others in this forum :lol: .

Thanks for your help everyone, and do let me know if any of you are also into the Fruity/Floral style of tea; would be happy to trade success stories!
Post Reply