Flavour & Cupping
Sensory Evaluation · Flavor Wheel and Standards
From interactive dual-tier flavour wheels and polyphenol-amino acid ratios to national five-factor cupping standards and quality fault triage: building an objective sensory vocabulary.
Flavour is far more than slapping poetic adjectives like “floral” or “sweet” onto an infusion. This chapter uses the tea flavour wheel, chemical-to-sensory models, and quality troubleshooting workflows to ground aroma volatiles, taste thresholds, and mouthfeel descriptors in an objective, reproducible framework[1][2].
Chemical composition provides valuable clues, but individual compounds can never be equated directly with subjective sensory perception. Harvest grade, craft precision, storage conditions, and brewing environment interact continuously; this chapter provides rigorous descriptive tools while maintaining clear boundaries between instrumental analytics and human tasting[1][2][3].
A shared vocabulary connecting volatiles to sensory perception
Interactive Tea Flavour Wheel
Explore primary aroma families and specific volatile descriptors. Built alongside the national sensory evaluation standard (GB/T 23776) for professional tasting.
Chapter articles
3 articlesHow do you describe tea with a flavour wheel?
A flavour wheel groups related aroma associations into a word map, helping move from “pleasant” to a clearer description.
Can one compound ratio predict flavour?
The polyphenol-to-amino-acid ratio relates two measured compound groups and can help explain some taste differences.
How can you compare two teas more fairly?
Sensory evaluation brings samples, vessels, water and timing into comparable conditions, then examines dry leaf, liquor colour, aroma, taste and infused leaf separately.
Open sensory tools · professional beta in preparation
Build shared language before deeper triage
The open edition retains foundational terms, representative paths and every stop-use notice; the complete professional workflow is being prepared as a separate edition.Sensory terminology
Search foundational terms, English names and concise definitions across six sensory dimensions. Full distinctions, observation and source locators are moving to the professional edition.
Use open tool →Quality fault triage
Start from tea type and sensory signs to establish a basic frame, with high-frequency paths and every stop-use notice openly available.
Use open tool →METHODOLOGICAL RIGOR & EVIDENCE BOUNDARIESStandardized Sensory Protocol & Objective Cupping
Vocabulary and scoring rules strictly follow national sensory standards (GB/T 23776). Volatile GC-MS and odor activity value (OAV) thresholds are fully cited.
Objective cupping metrics are carefully separated from subjective consumer appreciation.
Primary References
- R-029 — Wan Xiaochun, ed. (2003). Tea Biochemistry (3rd ed.). China Agriculture Press. ISBN: 978-7109066274. Taste mechanisms of catechins, amino acids, caffeine, and aromatic volatiles.
- R-161 — GB/T 23776-2018. Methodology for Sensory Evaluation of Tea. Standardization Administration of China. National standard for professional cupping protocol.
- R-033 — Wang, K., et al. (2010). Comparison of catechins and amino acids in white, green, oolong, black, and pu-erh teas. Food Chemistry, 121(2), 338–344.