Taster Profile Jennifer Nowicki

November 22, 2025

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Hello everyone,

Back when I was pursuing my degree in dairy technology, one of my favorite subjects was sensory evaluation. We evaluated every imaginable dairy product for various organoleptic parameters. We also learned how to design the right sensory labs and how factors that have nothing to do with the product being tested can impact the perception of the product. Those classes helped me understand that every food product is a sensory experience, even when we don’t realize it. We don’t just taste food orally, our other senses – visual, olfactory, auditory, and tactile also play an important role in how we perceive food.

For instance, a green-colored strawberry ice cream, no matter how amazing, will never feel good, because strawberry ice cream must be pink. Not just any pink, a very specific range of pink. Food that tastes good on the ground generally doesn’t taste good in a plane, because our senses of taste, smell, and hearing are not at their optimum – cabin pressure, low humidity, engine noise, and other factors come into play. Sensory science is such a fascinating discipline!

That brings me to the discipline of tea tasting. Tea tasters taste so many teas in a day. They need their senses to stay sharp all the time. Their work can have such a big impact on the tea being bought/sold. Being a tea taster comes with a lot of responsibility, for sure. In recent times, I have met, physically and virtually, some amazing tea tasters, and I am so glad to have met them.

Today, I profile one such tea taster – Jennifer Nowicki, an experienced tea professional and the founder of Cultivate Taste Tea. Jennifer has nearly 30 years in the tea industry, is a certified tea specialist from the Specialty Tea Institute, and is dedicated to sourcing as well as sharing the world’s finest single-origin teas. Check out the new Tasters’ profile, featuring Jennifer.

We are barely five days away from Thanksgiving and about a month away from Christmas. Depending on which half of the planet you are in, the weather must have begun to change, with the merry festive spirit in the air. How is everybody’s gift shopping coming along? Tea Journey is here to help. We are launching our most-awaited issue of the year – the Holiday Gift Guide. Do check it out.

Also, we have a Black Friday offer going on. Use the code TJ25BLACKFRIDAY to get a whopping 60% off on subscriptions.

Don’t forget to share the stories with your friends, family, colleagues, or anyone who you feel would enjoy reading them.

Yours in tea,

By Bhavi Patel

Tea Taster Profile: Jennifer Nowicki

Jennifer Nowicki, founder of Cultivate Taste Tea, is a certified specialist leveraging 30 years of industry experience and business expertise to share the world’s finest, authentic single-origin teas.

Over the years, Tea Journey has profiled some amazing tea tasters from around the world.

For instance, Jan Dellwisch, the general manager at K and K, Head of Buying, and Senior Trader. Jan has traveled and worked in India and Sri Lanka, across different tea-growing regions, and has vast experience not just in tea tasting but also in other trading.

Check out Jan’s profile on Tea Journey here:

By Marten Verch

Tea Taster Profile: Jan Dellwisch

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.

We also profiled Kurush Bharucha. There is little chance that you work in or with the Indian tea industry and have not heard about Kurush. Kurush is a renowned tea taster, competition jury member, buyer, blender, trainer, educator, product innovator and developer, and so much more, not just in India, but around the globe. He spent 39 years of his professional life in tea, all with Unilever.

You can read his profile here:

By Aravinda Anantharaman

Taster 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!”

As the editor, I aim to keep highlighting the amazing work tea professionals do through the Tasters’ Q and A features. I really hope you enjoy getting to know these individuals as much as we love featuring them.

Happy Weekend!

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Until next time.

Bhavi Patel, Editor, Tea Journey Magazine

Bhavi Patel, known as Banjaran Foodie, is the editor of the Tea Journey Magazine and a distinguished tea and coffee expert with a background in dairy technology and brand building. As a trusted writer for renowned publications including Perfect Daily Grind, Barista, and STiR Magazines, she combines scientific expertise with storytelling to explore specialty beverages.

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Bhavi Patel

Bhavi Patel, known as Banjaran Foodie, is a distinguished tea and coffee expert with a background in dairy technology and brand building. As a trusted writer for renowned publications including Perfect Daily Grind, Barista, and STiR Magazines, she combines scientific expertise with storytelling to explore specialty beverages.