The Difference Between Bitterness and Astringency in Tea… In Simple Words
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- čas přidán 5. 07. 2024
- Is it bitter or astringent? Or maybe both? The difference between bitterness and astringency in tea, explained.
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#bittertea #bitterleaf #astringent
Good video! I think "bitterness is taste while astringency is texture" sums it up perfectly.
I agree. Nothing ''tastes'' astringent, just like nothing ''tastes'' hot or cold.
Thanks for the great teachings. I learned this last year and still am paying attention to it to learn as I taste. It’s not easy.
That grape example brought me right back to my childhood. At the city park close to where I grew up there are these large somewhat wild grapevines. My dad would always pick from there for me and my brother. I remember how the skin of those grapes was much tougher than what we'd get from the supermarket and how I'd usually just suck the pulp out and throw the skin away since it was hard to eat it along the pulp. When I tried the skin by itself it was super unpleasant, but now I want to try it again to see if that was astringency or something else.
Yes, I believe it was astringency
Let us know your findings! Red grapes are more astringent than white, usually.
In my grandparents' garden there grow some grapes, it's a "strange" kind of grapes i've never seen in supermarkets, very dark red very small and round berries with very fleshy sweet pulp but quite tough and astringent skin, as far as I remember..
Sheng puerh is one of those teas that has taken a lot of patience to get into but has opened my eyes (taste buds) to appreciate other tastes profiles!
You are not alone, Alexander. Those that a stubborn il enough to overcome the first impressions find great satisfaction in shengpu.
Great explanation! The comparison to the feeling of unripe fruit is on point. Lovely Gaiwan, btw. :)
A minimalist gaiwan, isn't? I bought it a year ago at Floating Leaves, in Seattle.
@@nannuoshan a very charming minimalistic Gaiwan, especially with that little place mat underneath.
Glad I understood the difference. You also explained it very well. I would like to ask two questions. What is the best way to reduce bitterness and astringency in storage methods? Also, which yixing teapot helps to reduce astringency and bitterness based on it's chemical makeup or how it was created? Is their a specific yixing teapot that helps nullify bitterness and/ or astringency?
There is a different explanation for astringency that has come up in recent years, that I believe gives more off a complete picture. Besides the taste receptors there are also different kinds of trigeminale receptors. These are responsible for a range of physical sensations like texture and wetness in the mouth, temperature, pain. For example: The temperature receptor for heat can also be activated by molecules like the capsaicin in chili which will give a burning sensation. Other examples: the cooling sensation of menthol, a creamy or tangy texture. There is a very close link between the taste and trigeminale system. If the receptors for bitterness and heat are triggered at the same time the sensation we get in the mouth is astringency (without the mouth actually beeing dry).
I highly recommend reading up on the physical aspects of perceiving taste. My understanding and appreciation of tea has grown a lot with this knowledge.
Thank you for this contribution! Ist there any book or website that you would recommend?
'Tea: A nerd's eye view' by Virginia Utermohlen Lovelace. I had the predecessor book to this one which was really insightful - I guess this one will be even better. For a first insight I would suggest a podcast with the author by Don Mei. I hope you don't mind me refering to the competition. Mei Leaf's Tea lifted podcast Ep. 4: The Anatomy of flavour perception (After 63 minutes they start talking about the trigeminal perception and astringency).
Great video! So an overstepped Sencha... Is it bitter, astringent or both? I'll make the experiment myself tomorrow, but from memory I'd say both 🤔
Hello Alba, mi would bet on rather bitter than astringent, especially if steeped at overly high temperature. However bitterness and astringency do not characterize only each tea category, but there are great differences with each category, too. Chinese Green tea often turn bitter, sometime astringent, but you could find one that is not bitter but rather astringent.