Tasting and ritual
The vocabulary, the body, the session.
Tasting tea well is mostly noticing: the dry leaf, the warmed leaf, the first steep slurped so the aroma reaches the nose from behind, and the way the cup changes by the fifth infusion. The Chinese tradition has words for what happens next: huigan, the sweetness that returns in the throat, and cha qi, the feeling in the body. TEAKI's guides teach the words and the habit.
By the TEAKI editors · Updated 21 October 2026 · 5 guides
At a glance
| Look | Dry leaf, liquor colour, and the wet leaf at the end |
|---|---|
| Smell | Dry, warmed and wet leaf, then the empty cup |
| Slurp | Air across the tea sends its aroma up to the nose |
| Huigan 回甘 | Sweetness that returns after a bitter note |
| Cha qi 茶气 | The body's response: warmth, calm, a lift |
| Tea drunk | Real, chemical, and mostly theanine and caffeine |
Six words worth knowing
The vocabulary tea drinkers reach for when English runs out.
How to taste tea →The guides
5 pieces, in the order most people need them.
Questions people ask
What is huigan?
Returning sweetness. A good tea can start bitter on the tongue and then turn sweet in the throat a few seconds later. The stronger and longer that return, the better the tea is usually judged to be.
What is cha qi?
Literally tea energy: the physical feeling a tea gives, from a warm chest to a calm, lifted head. Part of it is caffeine and theanine, part of it is suggestion, and the best tea drinkers hold both views at once.
Why do tea tasters slurp?
Pulling air across the tea sprays it over the whole palate and pushes aroma up behind the nose, where most of what we call taste actually happens. It is rude at dinner and correct at a tasting.
How do I write a tasting note?
Note the dry leaf, the aroma, the first steep and the fifth, the texture, and how long the finish lasts. Use food you have actually eaten rather than borrowed words, and date it. The notes you save on TEAKI live in My Teas.
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