Glossary
Tea terms, plainly defined.
Short definitions for the words that show up across SteepGuide: processing, brewing vessels, styles, and tasting language.
A
Astringency
A drying, puckering sensation caused by tea polyphenols; useful in balance, harsh when over-extracted.
C
Caffeine
A naturally occurring stimulant in true tea. Amount varies by tea, leaf amount, grind, and brewing style.
Camellia sinensis
The tea plant. Green, black, white, oolong, matcha, and pu-erh all come from this species.
Catechins
A family of tea polyphenols associated with bitterness, astringency, and green tea structure.
Chai
A spiced tea tradition, often black tea brewed with milk, sweetener, and spices such as cardamom and ginger.
Chasen
A bamboo matcha whisk used to suspend matcha powder smoothly in water.
Chawan
A tea bowl used for whisking and drinking matcha.
Cold brew
Tea brewed in cold water over a longer period, usually for a smoother iced cup with less perceived bitterness.
Compressed tea
Tea pressed into cakes, bricks, or nests for storage, aging, transport, or portioning.
Cultivar
A cultivated tea plant variety selected for traits such as aroma, color, yield, or processing fit.
F
Fannings
Small broken tea particles often used in tea bags; fast extracting, but not automatically low quality.
Fixation
The heat step that slows oxidation in green tea, often by steaming or pan-firing.
Flush
A seasonal harvest period, commonly used for teas such as Darjeeling.
G
Gaiwan
A lidded Chinese brewing bowl used for focused, repeat infusions.
Gongfu
A concentrated brewing style using more leaf, less water, and many short steeps.
Gyokuro
A shade-grown Japanese green tea known for deep umami and lower-temperature brewing.
H
Honeybush
A naturally caffeine-free South African tisane related in use and flavor profile to rooibos.
K
Kyusu
A Japanese teapot, often side-handled, commonly used for sencha and other Japanese green teas.
L
Longjing
Dragon Well, a flat-leaf Chinese green tea often associated with roasted chestnut-like notes.
M
Masala
A spice mixture; in masala chai it usually points to warming spices brewed with tea and milk.
Matcha
A powdered Japanese green tea whisked into water, so the whole ground leaf is consumed.
O
Oxidation
The enzymatic browning process that changes tea color, aroma, body, and tannin structure.
P
Pu-erh
A Yunnan dark tea tradition sold loose or compressed, commonly divided into raw and ripe styles.
R
Roasting
A heat treatment that can add toasted, nutty, caramelized, or mineral depth to tea.
Rolling
A shaping and cell-breaking step that influences extraction, appearance, and oxidation.
Rooibos
A naturally caffeine-free South African infusion made from Aspalathus linearis, not Camellia sinensis.
S
Sencha
The benchmark Japanese steamed green tea, usually fresh, grassy, and sensitive to water temperature.
Shade-grown
A pre-harvest shading practice that can deepen green color, sweetness, and umami.
Sheng
Raw pu-erh: a style that can be bright and bitter young, then change substantially with aging.
Shou
Ripe pu-erh: pile-fermented dark tea designed for earthy, smooth depth without decades of aging.
T
Tannins
A broad term often used for compounds that contribute structure, bitterness, and drying texture.
Terroir
The combined effect of place, climate, soil, cultivar, farming, and processing on tea character.
Tisane
An herbal infusion that does not come from Camellia sinensis.
Tuocha
A nest-shaped compressed tea form, often used for pu-erh and related dark teas.
U
Umami
A savory taste associated with amino acids, especially prominent in shaded Japanese green teas and matcha.
W
Withering
A controlled moisture-loss step after harvest that softens leaves and begins flavor development.