Since I was born in East Frisia, Assam Orthodox tea has always held a special place for me. I see it as an abstract connection to my heritage — the East Frisian tea culture — which is deeply tied to a region on the other side of the planet from Assam.
Read More• Tasters Q&A
Learn from the palates of masters who know every nuance.
Taster’s Profile: Niraj de Mel
You need to taste and taste because there are many similarities. When you keep on tasting, you will begin to identify the differences, and that’s how you broaden your horizons.
Read MoreTaster Profile: Kurush Bharucha
Tea wasn’t just what I did – it seemed to define who I am. As my close friends light-heartedly joke, “Kurush doesn’t drink tea to wake up, he wakes up to drink Tea!” and “If he won the lottery tomorrow, he’d still be doing tea!”
Read MoreTaster Profile: Chandra Bhushan Subba
“My decision to embark on the path of professional tea-making and tasting was deeply rooted in my upbringing. Surrounded by the intricate dance of tea artisans and the fragrance of freshly plucked leaves, my fascination with tea began at a tender age. I’ve been living with tea for over three decades now.”
Read MoreTaster Profile: Carine Baudry
The world of smells is closely linked to our experience. We work on memory, and so everyone describes tea with different terms. My role as a tea taster is to understand each one and say, “you are actually talking about the same compound.”
Read MoreTaster and Pioneer Tea Sommelier Lydia Gautier
A pioneer tea sommelier in France and the author of several reference books on tea, Lydia Gautier has been a consultant for many international brands. Her 25 years of experience and proximity to producers have led her to become one of the major figures in tea expertise in the world, and in 2107 to create her own brand, Lydia Gautier Thés et Tisanes.
Read MoreTaster Sensation Kevin Gascoyne
My introduction to tea was unspoken and visceral. Humble mugs of the strong, milked ‘builder’s tea’ of my youth in the North of England still fill me with nostalgic pleasure whenever I’m in the U.K. My body chemistry has never been without the magic nectar. – Kevin Gascoyne
Read MoreInside the Taster’s Practice
Experiencing the taste of tea and then describing that experience in spoken and written language is an art and a science, dependent on both inspiration and a lot of hard work. Professional tasters discuss some of the key questions about their craft.
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