Tea Information

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Kona-cha: Also called “sushi tea” because it is frequently offered free at sushi bars, kona-cha is a lower-quality tea made of the fannings and dust that are byproducts of tea processing. It is less expensive than whole leaf tea. The leaves can be anything from ban-cha to gyokuro, so the taste will vary.

Kukicha or Kuki-cha: Also called winter tea, kukicha is made from twigs and branches with a few leaves pruned from the tea plant during its dormant season and dry-roasted over a fire. It is earthy in flavor, with a lingering sweetness. Popular as a health food drink in Japan and in macrobiotic diets.

Lacking: Describes a neutral liquor with no body or pronounced characteristics.

Lady Grey Tea: A base of Earl Grey tea that has been flavored additionally with like lemon and orange oils.

Lapsang Souchong Tea: A black tea from China, and today Taiwan, which is smoked over a pine wood fire, giving it its distinctive smoky, tarry flavor and aroma.

Lemon Tea: Hot tea served with a slice of lemon, in the Russian style instead of milk, which is the British style. See also Russian tea.

Light: Tea leaves that are light in weight, of poor density and sometimes flaky; or brewed tea lacking strength and depth of color.

Liquor: The brewed tea.

Loose Tea: Whole tea leaves that are infused without a tea bag.

Malawi: An African country with teas of good color and flavor, which are mainly used for blending purposes.

Malty: Slightly over-fired tea producing a subtle, underlying malt flavor, and characteristic of Assam tea.

Masala Chai: Indian spiced tea. See chai.

Matcha contains a higher amount of nutrients (vitamins, amino acids, polyphenols, and fiber) than other teas. In recent years, matcha has become a popular cooking and baking ingredient, and now comes in different grades for different uses. In the absence of green tea ice cream, sprinkle some matcha on vanilla ice cream.

Mecha: A byproduct of sencha, made during the sifting process in the production of sencha. It contains coarse, broken tea leaves and incipient baby tea buds that are quality but too small to stay inside the sieve.

Mint Tea: Mint tea is as much a mainstay of northern Africa and other Arab countries as afternoon tea is in the U.K. It is traditionally prepared from gunpowder green tea or other strong Chinese tea. A large quantity of fresh mint leaves and sugar are added to the pot, and boiling water is poured over them, to steep for three to five minutes. The hot tea is served in a glass. The Arabic word is touareg or tuareg.

Mushy: A result of being packed or stored with a high moisture content.

Musty: A scent that indicates the possibility of mold.

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Types Of Tea & Tea Terminology

Tea Glossary Page 9: Terms K To M