There's no point in rating teas

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d.manuk
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Sat Mar 17, 2018 9:26 pm

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.
Teachronicles
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Sat Mar 17, 2018 11:41 pm

Shine Magical wrote:
Sat Mar 17, 2018 9:26 pm
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 100% agree with you, I started off taking notes but after a while I was focusing too hard, getting too analytical trying to identify which flavors were present instead of just enjoying the tea, so now I just enjoy. I do take notes when testing pots tho, which I think is worthwhile.
Teachronicles
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Sat Mar 17, 2018 11:44 pm

After thinking about more, I could see how it could at least be interesting to see what you thought of a tea before to see how your tastes have evolved, if you can avoid getting too analytical and it detracting from the experience.
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Bok
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Sun Mar 18, 2018 2:45 am

Interesting thought and conclusion.

I have never rated teas, at the most I wrote down something memorable when I come across something new or special.
Only well after the session though, or when the tea starts to fade out.

But mostly I’ve settled down on certain teas that I like and that has never changed. Occasionally, I will venture into other teas or try a new vendor out of curiosity, but mostly it reaffirms my previous predilections and rarely a new tea makes the cut to join the rotation.
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mrmopu
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Sun Mar 18, 2018 8:57 am

I review somewhat but as for numericals it has been a while since I put a number on a tea. I used to never drink sheng and then I found some that agreed with me allowing me to branch out as well. I find I change from year to year as I explore new regions.
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ShuShu
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Sun Mar 18, 2018 1:05 pm

But the opposite is also true. I find myself really enjoying teas I have set a side a year ago as not so good...
A tea farmer once told me that “you westerners are looking for excitements instead of just drinking tea” (he was complaining about market distortions) I was a bit insulted at first but there is something in what he is saying... I think I have started to enjoy tea much more when I stopped logging and trying to find new notes in every tea I drink
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Brent D
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Sun Mar 18, 2018 3:00 pm

I find that a tea may taste different to me tomorrow than it did today. Don’t even get me started on same garden different year
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Sun Mar 18, 2018 4:21 pm

Teas definitely taste different as your tastes change, dependent on what you've recently consumed and your health... as well as how it is prepared. There are many many variables that will affect how you perceive the tea.

With that said - I've never had a tea that I loved suddenly become one that I found to be boring or bad... or vice versa. The changes tend to be at the margin in my experience.
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Mon Mar 19, 2018 4:58 pm

Shine Magical wrote:
Sat Mar 17, 2018 9:26 pm
Keeping a tea log and rating teas is not helpful.
Off topic a bit, I remind myself et.al. that notes about inventory etc. is different than a log that rates teas.

I started writing down when I open a packet & when I put tea into a tea caddy. Most of my teas are fine for more than a month after being opened, but green starts to give less pleasure not much 2 weeks after a packet is opened, even when kept tightly in the original packet. My black teas' & roasted oolong's flavors open up beautifully in ceramic tea caddies, but after 3 weeks the benefits of the ceramic containers starts to be less noticeable. Flavors fade noticeably when the tea is in these caddies more than 5 weeks or so.

Notes help me to steep leaves while they are in prime condition.
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Bok
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Mon Mar 19, 2018 8:08 pm

Ethan Kurland wrote:
Mon Mar 19, 2018 4:58 pm
Off topic a bit, I remind myself et.al. that notes about inventory etc. is different than a log that rates teas.
Good point. I tend to write down the prices of what I bought, so I have a track of spending and how the prices develop (I do mostly buy the same kind of teas each time). Also to remind the shop of what I spend last time, so we do not waste time and start sampling inferior tea which I won’t buy anyway and instead go into the better direction :mrgreen:
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Baisao
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Tue Mar 20, 2018 12:56 am

I have never rated teas except when sampling or reviewing a vendor’s teas. However, I think it is good to pay attention to flavors/aromas in different teas and to noodle with the parameters until you become adept at making tea. Of course this assumes you want to make tea masterfully anyway. Notes could help or you could just remember what you did. The latter worked for me. I think this kind of conscious attention to tea is essential for at least the first five years of daily tea making. Once you’ve reached conscious mastery, it’s time to forget what you’ve learned.

I never enjoy teas less than when reviewing them: I am too distracted by writing notes to enjoy the tea. I am not present.

The corollary to this is that I enjoy tea most when I let my gestures prepare the tea without mental meddling. After so much time, my body and intuition know what to do. The tea seems more flavorful and I am more present to enjoy it.
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Victoria
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Tue Mar 20, 2018 1:55 am

Baisao wrote:
Tue Mar 20, 2018 12:56 am
I have never rated teas except when sampling or reviewing a vendor’s teas. However, I think it is good to pay attention to flavors/aromas in different teas and to noodle with the parameters until you become adept at making tea. Of course this assumes you want to make tea masterfully anyway. Notes could help or you could just remember what you did. The latter worked for me. I think this kind of conscious attention to tea is essential for at least the first five years of daily tea making. Once you’ve reached conscious mastery, it’s time to forget what you’ve learned.

I never enjoy teas less than when reviewing them: I am too distracted by writing notes to enjoy the tea. I am not present.

The corollary to this is that I enjoy tea most when I let my gestures prepare the tea without mental meddling. After so much time, my body and intuition know what to do. The tea seems more flavorful and I am more present to enjoy it.
Yes, this resonates with me as well - being present - although I still enjoy keeping / writing notes and including research I’m doing about a particular tea and teaware along the way. I also found taking detailed notes of steeping parameters very useful for the first five years or so, especially with Japanese teas; they are so particular each requiring slightly different tea gr /water ml /water temp /time /teaware ratios. I keep a lot of my tea and teaware notes in Evernote, making access across platforms easy, plus I can include photos, web links, research papers etc. together within categories I set up. With Taiwanese oolongs steeping parameters are less finicky, so I can make more general assumptions, although I still enjoy keeping tasting notes, location info., vendor, research, photos etc organized for easy access. If I am exploring a new vendor and or tea I will keep more detailed notes. Also, I find DanCong requires more attention, especially what water to use and temperatures, so I will keep more detailed notes for these teas as well. As Ethan mentioned, it is good to note with greener younger teas when you first opened the pack, since they won’t age so gracefully. Oh, and I include in my notes teaware pairing, this helps to tweak and adjust steeping the next time, and has added to my knowledge of how each teapot performs and interacts with each tea group.

The beauty of having a routine and drinking specific teas often, over several years, is brewing becomes second nature and more fluid. Yet, while we explore new teas these notes become an important part of that exploration, helping us expand our knowledge base and refine how we steep a particular tea.
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Baisao
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Wed Mar 21, 2018 12:34 am

Victoria wrote:
Tue Mar 20, 2018 1:55 am
The beauty of having a routine and drinking specific teas often, over several years, is brewing becomes second nature and more fluid. Yet, while we explore new teas these notes become an important part of that exploration, helping us expand our knowledge base and refine how we steep a particular tea.
All true.

Oddly enough, by being present, I have found that I am getting great results even when I change parameters as fundamental as water temp or different volumes. This was unexpected.
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Bok
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Wed Mar 21, 2018 12:50 am

And to come back to the original topic:
Usually the tea that deserve a rating as being the best, will stay in your memory anyways.
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Baisao
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Wed Mar 21, 2018 12:52 am

Bok wrote:
Wed Mar 21, 2018 12:50 am
And to come back to the original topic:
Usually the tea that deserve a rating as being the best, will stay in your memory anyways.
Agreed!
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