Jan Dellwisch was born and raised in East Frisia as the oldest of five siblings. After finishing school, he moved to Bremen for social service at the Central Hospital, then worked as an apprentice at Kloth and Köhnken Teehandel GmbH (K and K). After completing his apprenticeship, he traveled to India to work for an NGO in Darjeeling and the Terai. He then went to Sri Lanka, where he worked on various tea estates. During that time, he was a trainee at CTM, Stassens, Tea Tang, and other companies. He returned to India and trained in Kolkata (Chamong, Assam Co, and others) and at the tea estates in Upper Assam/Dibrugarh and various estates in Darjeeling. Afterwards, he returned to Bremen and got rehired by K and K as a junior trader. He later supervised the organic department of K and K, handling audits and trading organic, certified teas. Recently, he was promoted to General Manager at K and K, Head of Buying, and Senior Trader. 

Jan Dellwisch in conversation with Marten Verch

When did you decide to pursue tea-making/tea tasting as a professional skill?  
What first interested you about tasting? 

Since my initial days at K and K, I was allowed to join the tasting table. The vast variety of teas on the table, each with its overwhelming range of characters, opened up a new world to me — one I did not know existed. I was truly humbled and looked at it with awe, thinking, “How will I ever be able to remember all these tastes and aromas and learn everything about the universe of tea? Would I need special skills and abilities to do the job?” However, Mathias and Axel, both founders, owners, and directors of K and K at the time, reassured me that all I needed was ambition and continuous practice. The love and dedication for tea would come eventually. After only a few months, I was fully immersed.

Are there some teas (tea styles) that resonate with you? Are there teas that you are better at describing, even if they are not your personal favorites? If so, why do you think this is the case?  

As a beginner in the early days of my career, I found the styles of Ceylon easier to learn. Understanding their characters and the connection to terroir, elevation, and style was simpler, as the differences are so clearly defined. Even today, I find the range of characters in Ceylon teas fascinating. Having spent quite some time in the field, I feel very confident in this regard.

It took me a few years to gain a deep understanding of a tea my mentors used to refer to as the ‘gold standard’ or the ‘champagne of teas’: Darjeeling First Flush. Its depth, complexity, and the outstanding uniqueness of each tea, garden, and cultivar make it truly remarkable. As the future of premium-level Darjeeling is at stake, I make an effort to cup as many high-quality teas as possible. I can thoroughly relate to the fascination my mentors had for these teas.

Being East Frisian, Assam Orthodox tea has always held a special place for me. My heritage — the East Frisian tea culture — forms an abstract connection that I recognize, deeply rooted in a region on the other side of the planet. With this in mind, I naturally pay closer attention to these teas when tasting.

Chinese teas are very interesting as well. Many teas of Chinese origin are exceptionally good, and fantastic stories are rooted in their related traditions. Emotionally, however, I would describe myself as a ‘black tea guy.’ I do not base my buying decisions on folktales or myths, which therefore limits my knowledge.  Currently, my primary focus is on teas from Africa and their cultivars.

Will you share some insights about how you developed your tea vocabulary with readers? What was the process like for you in going from identifying “something familiar” to perhaps relating it to a memorable experience or place to being able to put a specific term to it?

To be very frank, describing each cup of tea in the most precise detail has never been my primary goal — nor is it what earns money in the day-to-day business. The first question is always: Do I have a potential buyer for this tea? Following this, I examine whether the tea is well-made. Does it have flaws, or is it, in certain aspects, superior to any alternatives available? And is it worth the price tag? With 200 to 400 cups a day, binary decision-making has always proven most effective.

From there, you ask practical questions such as: Is the cup darker or brighter than the one you’re comparing it to? Is it lighter or thicker? Earthier or fruitier? Over time, I either learned the vocabulary used in this context or developed it through my own descriptions. In our day-to-day business, we almost always compare one tea to another; rarely does a cup stand alone. So, when certain terminology is missing, the final question becomes: Which tea do I like better?

I surely appreciate a complex cup of tea. But whether it’s described as ‘peachier’ or having a ‘hint of brisk, oven-fresh bread on the tongue’ is subjective and, in most cases, not helpful in my daily routine.

What is helpful, however, is the ability to clearly explain to a supplier what specific tea you’re looking for and to describe your requirements constructively. This allows them to adjust their offer to better fit the purpose.

There are international standards that everyone in the trade must understand — otherwise, you simply won’t be able to do business. It’s a shame that, in much of the Western world, the number on the price tag often outweighs the actual taste profile. That is something I cannot identify with.

Is there an area of vocabulary you found easier and, similarly, an area you found more difficult? 

Sometimes, I feel there is no definitive right or wrong when it comes to tasting, as everyone’s palate is different and each person has uniquely trained their own throughout life. An Assamese planter, for example, surely has a different taste perception than I do, or my buyer from the mountains of Austria. Water quality plays a crucial role, and expectations vary greatly from taster to taster.

With the help of others, Will Battle designed and published a flavor wheel that illustrates the many directions in which tea aromas can develop. However, these categories often cover broad areas with little to no further specified details.

What advice would you give consumers seeking to refine their taste in tea?  

Buy loose-leaf tea. Start with flavored teas if you like, but make sure to move toward non-flavored and original teas over time. Look beyond the supermarkets. Try to find the right words to describe what you are looking for: Do you prefer a strong tea or a light one? A breakfast tea or an afternoon tea? Something refreshing or something with more punch?

Do not fall for romantic stories on the packaging. Instead, experiment with the tea: steep it longer, use hotter water, or adjust the amount of tea in the cup. Notice how the flavor changes, and along the way, you might discover what appeals to you most. Loose-leaf tea is usually much cheaper than tea bags when calculated per 100 grams.

I find that tea has many dimensions. The taste in the cup is only one of them. It comes with an agricultural perspective, processing and tea-making techniques, health benefits, cultural heritage and its evolution, socio-economic aspects at the planters’ level, market trends, and business perspectives, to name a few.

Sometimes, I look at tea from a different angle. When a planter from China gifts me a fresh spring tea just for personal enjoyment in the office, I can fully focus on the taste and explore the cultural heritage behind it, without considering business opportunities. On the other hand, when I cup a Nepalese tea, the craftsmanship and processing techniques often impress me, naturally leading me to explore potential business opportunities.

Brand owners and marketing experts tend to focus on one or two of these dimensions. As a result, their buying decisions revolve more around these specific factors than others.

All photos by Jan Dellwisch

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