To seriously enjoy a session of tea, you can describe your experience through the following seven steps, commonly referred to as the “four smells and three sips.” Here, the four smells do not refer to the typical hot smell, warm smell, and cold smell. Instead, when the tea is brewed, you can appreciate the aroma from these four aspects, carefully sensing the differences in each.
【First Smell: Lid Aroma】
When tea meets high-temperature brewing, it releases its aromatic compounds. When using a Gaiwan, the inner lid comes into direct contact with the tea soup, making the lid aroma particularly prominent. For example, when drinking Yancha (rock tea), we can easily detect floral and fruity aromas.
【Second Smell: Leaf Base Aroma】
After shaking the leaves, you can smell the dry leaf base aroma, and after brewing, you can also smell the aroma of the infused leaf base. There are subtle differences between the two. For example, a high-grade Bai Mudan that is four to five years old will have a distinct honey aroma when dry, but after brewing, the leaf base aroma transforms into a floral one. These subtle differences are worth exploring.
【Third Smell: Aroma on the Fairness Cup's Bottom】
The fairness cup, after holding multiple servings of tea soup, retains the tea's aroma even after the tea soup has been poured out. This lingering aroma is more delicate than the aroma in the tea soup itself, but good teas have a soft and gentle aroma that lingers in the cup. Personally, I love the lingering aroma of wild-grown Bai Hao Yin Zhen, which has a faint floral, beany, and downy aroma.
【Fourth Smell: Aroma in the Tasting Cup】
In professional tea brewing, there is a cup called the aroma cup, which is tall and narrow, making it easy for aromas to linger. However, in everyday Tea drinking, not everyone has a complete set of tea ware, so you can directly smell the aroma in the tasting cup after finishing the tea soup. When drinking Yancha, I choose a narrow-mouthed, taller tasting cup, feeling the aroma swirl within the cup, which is very enjoyable.
Three Sips: We taste a cup of tea in three sips.
【First Taste: Flavor of the Tea Soup】
The most direct sensation is whether the tea soup is sweet and smooth or bitter and Astringent. Since everyone's taste buds differ, their tolerance for bitterness and astringency also varies. Some teas may start off bitter but then quickly transform into a sweet aftertaste, rather than lingering bitterness in the mouth. Such teas can still be considered quite good.
【Second Taste: Concentration and Body of the Tea Soup】
There is a professional term that says “concentration is not thickness, and dilution is not thinness.” The second taste involves assessing the thickness of the tea soup by feeling its weight on the tongue. As a simple example, honey water is thicker than rock sugar water.
【Third Taste: Nuance and Layers of the Tea Soup】
We often say that aged Bai Hao Yin Zhen has a downy and honey-like nuance. Nuance can be simply understood as the lingering sensation in the mouth after swallowing the tea soup. Bai Hao Yin Zhen has a strong honey nuance, leaving a sweet and smooth feeling in the throat. Layers refer to the changes in each infusion or sip of tea soup. Good Yancha, such as the Lao Cong Shui Xian from Jiulongkeng, exhibits rich layers. For instance, the first few infusions may carry a slight smoky flavor, followed by a pronounced coniferous taste. By the fifth or sixth infusion, a floral aroma emerges, and after ten infusions, although the flavor becomes lighter, the water remains sweet and smooth.