There's no point in rating teas

[teaformeplease]

Tasting tea is so subjective that I really don't see any benefit in ratings either. I recently read a book that explained how part of what we taste is actually genetic. Certain people are more sensitive to particular chemicals in tea and some may not be able to detect them at all.

[beachape]

Also found that it is really hard to get to know a tea well enough to rate it (or not to rate it) after a 25 gram sample.

[Baisao]

Also found that it is really hard to get to know a tea well enough to rate it (or not to rate it) after a 25 gram sample.

That seems like more than enough tea to decide on. 6-7 grams, equivalent to one pot of tea for GongFu Cha, is enough for me to make an assessment with. Even with that, I've mostly made up my mind by the 3rd steeping. Are you making large pots of tea or making tea from Camellia sinensis-assamica?

[ShuShu]

Also found that it is really hard to get to know a tea well enough to rate it (or not to rate it) after a 25 gram sample.

That seems like more than enough tea to decide on. 6-7 grams, equivalent to one pot of tea for GongFu Cha, is enough for me to make an assessment with. Even with that, I've mostly made up my mind by the 3rd steeping. Are you making large pots of tea or making tea from Camellia sinensis-assamica?

I think it depends on what you mean by “to make an assessment”. One session is certainly enough to tell the good from the bad, but I feel that more is usually necessary to get to know a tea well. I think that when experienced drinkers drink tea they sometimes expect certain aromas and flavors and one session is insufficient to properly introduce a tea and its distinctive qualities. You can also add to it other factors that sometimes influence the experience, such as the time of day or your mood. This is just me, but it happened to me more than once that teas that seemed to me exceptional in the first session felt just good on the next sessions, and teas that were just good at first revealed special qualities and flavors on the 3rd and 4th GF sessions.
This is why I never order 6/12 gram samples but 25 at minimum if I really want to get to know a tea

[d.manuk]

You can assess a tea as being great after 3 sessions, but after a few more sessions you may not like it as much after your taste buds have gotten used to it or after some time has passed.

[ShuShu]

You can assess a tea as being great after 3 sessions, but after a few more sessions you may not like it as much after your taste buds have gotten used to it or after some time has passed.

Teas that I have judged as great usually maintained their statuses. But I have certainly felt bored with a tea (even some very good teas) after drinking it too much or too often. I think that this is an important distinction. Does it make sense? I do have to say that this happened to me more often with high-grade gaoshan than with other teas... but that is just me

[d.manuk]

You can assess a tea as being great after 3 sessions, but after a few more sessions you may not like it as much after your taste buds have gotten used to it or after some time has passed.

Teas that I have judged as great usually maintained their statuses. But I have certainly felt bored with a tea (even some very good teas) after drinking it too much or too often. I think that this is an important distinction. Does it make sense? I do have to say that this happened to me more often with high-grade gaoshan than with other teas... but that is just me

I usually enjoy the first and second session the most with a tea, and then I get too used to it perhaps. I'm not very good at spacing out tasting sessions over the course of a long time though... I tend to have a drink it until it's gone approach once a tea is opened.

[nasalfrog]

I have recently come to this conclusion.

My tastes change too much, even in the span on 6 months, and tea drinking is an ephemeral experience that can be affected by a lot of outside factors. Keeping a tea log and rating teas is not helpful if you are intending to say anything other than "this is garbage, stay away." Some things that I really liked previously are now only "okay" because of the new tea experiences I've had in that time. If you drink a sample you extremely like I humbly suggest buying it again right away because perhaps you will not like it as much ever again and you should take advantage of that time frame.

I keep separate notes in Google Docs for each vendor and list the teas from top to bottom based on my favorites. For me there is some value in ranking them, but I understand what you are saying and that the practice is not very scientific. I will often put which teas are similar from different vendors and which one is the best value so that I can get the most bang for the buck when I repurchase.

I've only been at this a little over a year and my goal is to try new teas, but I have been repurchasing my top-ranked teas along with new-to-me ones so that I have something I know I like. So far, my top-ranked one usually holds its place or at least remains near the top.

Curious if anyone takes notes/rates on how a particular tea makes them feel? I seem to notice some teas consistently lift my mood more than others. There's one tea in particular that's flavor is good, but not my favorite, yet it always makes me feel nice. I have repurchased it based on that quality.