Now that I’m done with the Sayama Tea Series reviews, I thought it would be interesting to take some time to pause and think about the way that I write tea reviews. While I haven’t been reviewing tea for very long, the way that I’ve written my reviews have slowly shifted over time. This is my current process:
Before Writing a Word
Notes
I started to bullet journal last year and although COVID-19 has put a stop to that, I have discovered that I really like writing down my notes about the tea on paper.
When I’m writing these notes, everything goes in – impressions, thoughts, etc. It’s messy and a far cry from the review I eventually write.
Brewing parameters/Number of Times I Try the Tea
I do my best to try the tea at least two times before I write my review, and to keep the way I brew the tea the same each time. I prefer a more gongfu-style approach – with a high leaf to water ratio, short brewing time, and multiple steeps within a session.
Because I try the tea twice, I normally take my photos on the first session and use the second session to make sure that things are consistent (and I will note it down if it’s not)
Writing My Review
Structure
I used to be a lot more free form with the way I wrote my reviews, but nowadays I have settled into the following pattern:
- My impression of the dry leaves
- My review of the taste of the tea liquor
- Information about the tea/farmer/brand
By the way, this structure is also why doing tea reviews on youtube scare me – I like to have things double checked and confirmed (especially because I’m not that great at brewing tea) so reviewing things on the fly sounds a bit dangerous. I’ll probably have to challenge this fear soon.
Questions I have
Is your review about your personal preference or an evaluation of the tea itself?
The more I drink and learn about tea, the more I realise that there is a lot I don’t know. In a sense, if you read all my reviews over time, you’ll be able to see the journey through tea that I’ve been making through the ways I talk about tea and the types of tea I drink. Because of this, I tend to think of my tea reviews as me sharing my personal feedback about the tea.
On the other hand, I have learnt that tea can be judged on a technical standard. If you know what a tea should be like, you can judge how closely the tea you’re sampling matches the ideal state and thus make a more objective judgement about the tea.
Personally, I’m not there yet, so if you read my reviews and there are teas that I mention I don’t like, please remember that it doesn’t mean that the tea is bad. I’m quite curious: do you write your reviews as objective evaluations of the tea or personal critiques about whether the tea suits your preference? When you read reviews, do you assume the review is being objective or do you look for reviewers with tastes that match yours before you trust them?
Do you need to know about the spent leaves?
I’m pretty curious about this! There was a time where I would talk about the spent leaves, but then I realised I have nothing more to say. Do you, personally, thing it’s useful to know about whether the leaves were whole, their texture, etc, or do you care mostly about the taste of the tea and how it should be brewed?
So this is how I currently write tea and my questions/thoughts about tea reviews! I would be interested in knowing what your thoughts are, and of course, I’m sure I’ll be writing a follow up post next year about how my tea reviews have changed because I’m always learning!
I mean I’m not a tea person so I don’t have much to add here but I think we all evolve in our knowledge of everything over time and I’m sure your knowledge of tea will continue to grow!
Thank you for the encouragement!!
I always like to include a picture of the used leaves – it can tell you so much about the quality of the raw material. This is especially true for pressed teas, mainly sheng, where a lot of the time the best quality leaves will be put on the outer surfaces of the cake.
I see! I’ve been drinking sencha lately and the leaves all look the same to me so I was wondering how useful it’d be! Perhaps I’ll just have the leaves in when it makes more sense (like you mentioned, for Sheng or perhaps other aged teas)
I know so little about tea that I am always dazzled by your expertise and I always learn something from your tea posts whenever I read them. So, I will read about anything you want to write about when it comes to tea. If you want to show us the leaves, show us the leaves!
I’m hardly an expert but I’m glad you find my posts educational!! I will think about the leaves!! Maybe it’s on a case-by-case basis :p
I don’t consider mine to be reviews, but just my personal notes and experience with a tea. I don’t feel qualified to say a tea is truly good or not so I just say how I liked it.
Mine is probably more of a personal experience type of post rather than an evaluation of the tea as well!
I have a similar structure as yours! I normally provide some information from the vendor (brewing suggestions, information about the tea is from, etc.). I occasionally also have teas sent to me, or I may know the vendor, etc., so I will also outline that at the start, so the reader has that information moving forward. Then I start from dry leaves, wet leaves (which I personally feel is important because it showcases quality), then the liquor itself.
For each step of the review, I try to cover visual, smell, taste and texture when possible. Then normally my last paragraph is my own opinion. As everyone has different opinions on taste (black coffee vs adding sugar and milk), I try to make my reviews more focused around as a unbiased as possible evaluation. I also try to taste the teas at least twice just to confirm all my notes align and re-brew if my notes are very different. I sometimes review my older reviews and it has been a learning process for me as well! I hope we both keep growing!
Looks like the leaves are quite important after all! I normally show the dry leaves because I think that’s interesting (especially if the tea is supposed to be whole/buds) and I’ll probably have to add the spent leaves in my review where appropriate now.
I think I normally miss out texture, probably because I’m still learning about that. Will have to keep an eye out for how people describe the texture of their teas!!
I am an intern now as a junior tea taster. I am practicing reviewing various types of tea and understanding the true grading procedures for orthodox tea. I would request if anyone can provide me with a format of reviewing tea.
I also put the particulars of the tea and the factory where it is processed.
Then the dry leaf, then infusion, then the liquor and end with accumulative thought on tea.
Any suggestions to an intern on how to write a good review.
Thank You!