Tea has been grown and appreciated for more than 5,000 years so perhaps tea tasting is the oldest profession?
Tea tasters are employed by both the sellers (brokers selling on behalf of the producers) and the buyers of tea (mainly packers).
The career tea taster has a 5 to 7 year apprenticeship often spread over several producing countries. He (for they are almost always male) has a very sensitive palate and is able to identify a tea's country and the season when it was harvested, and often the name of the plantation. He can tell if the manufacture was done with care or if mistakes where made. He can judge quality and value. His tasting speed is legendary: sipping, slurping, and spitting up to 300 teas an hour!
Here at home, we can develop some of the taster's skills by following some simple techniques as outlined in the next pages.
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