Many wine lovers often use sensory astringency to evaluate the quality and inner substance of wine. In wine, tannins are the substance that causes astringency in the juice. They come from the soluble solids in grape berries, which are composed of polyphenolic compounds. Tasting fine Pu-erh tea can likewise produce sensory astringency. So how does astringency arise in the world of Pu-erh tea?<\/p>\n
In fact, our perception of Pu-erh tea’s astringency is related to the tea’s bitterness and astringency. It describes the length of time it takes for bitterness and astringency to transform into the returning sweetness that we perceive. The stronger the astringency, the shorter the time from when bitterness and astringency enter the mouth to when they dissipate and transform into returning sweetness. Conversely, if the astringency is weak, the bitter and astringent flavors fade slowly, and the mouth continues to taste them for a prolonged period.<\/p>\n
The strength of astringency not only determines the mouthfeel of the tea but also influences, to a certain degree, the comfort of the drinking experience, bringing different physical and mental sensations.<\/p>\n
As with wine, the astringency of tea in biological terms comes from the multiple substances naturally present in it, including tea polyphenols, flavonoids, and caffeine. Among these, tea polyphenols are the primary contributors to astringency, while flavonoid compounds and caffeine also play a supporting role.<\/p>\n
Polyphenol content is positively correlated with astringency. When drinking tea, polyphenols bind with proteins in the body, forming an impermeable film in the mouth. This film causes the local muscles of the oral cavity to contract, triggering bitterness and astringency.<\/p>\n
If a tea has a moderate polyphenol content, the film formed is typically only one or two molecular layers thick, and it “breaks apart” quickly. The contracted oral muscles recover, and this is the astringency we perceive. Additionally, the tenderness of the tea leaves picked and the processing methods affect the quantity of inner substances, thereby influencing the expression of astringency.<\/p>\n
So how does one judge whether a tea’s astringency is strong or weak? It is mainly reflected in the following aspects: First, note the mouthfeel after swallowing the liquor. If you can clearly feel bitter and astringent flavors, the tea likely has fairly strong astringency.<\/p>\n
Second, observe the speed at which bitterness and astringency transform into returning sweetness and salivation. If this process is swift, the tea has strong astringency; if slow, the astringency is insufficient. Finally, note the persistence of the returning sweetness and salivation. If this sensation lasts a long time, the tea’s astringency is quite good.<\/p>\n
Tea with good astringency brings pleasure to the drinker. The process of perceiving astringency is like a comfortable experience: after one sip, you cannot help but take another.<\/p>\n
Originally published in “Pu-erh” Magazine, August 2023 issue<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Author: Old Tea Head · Lin Shen (LamSam) Many wine lovers often use sensory astringency to evaluate the quality and inner substance of wine. In wine, tannins are the substance that causes astringency in the juice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6049,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[96],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lamsam-tea-notes-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6142"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6142\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6511,"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6142\/revisions\/6511"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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