what are the steps one takes to become a professional tea taster?

On Mar 28, 11:31 am, wrote:
> what are the steps one takes to become a professional tea taster?

Erh, love thy tea?

:"P

Danny

let me be more specific: in order to become an individiual who drinks
tea whilst being paid, what nature of certification process would one
have to go through? would one study with a very old long-bearded
chinese man somewhere in the backcountry of Yunnan, or go to a tea
drinking university and get a masters degree in tea tasting? (or plant
biology). The ideal answer to this post would include specifics; "Yes,
you need to go to school" would not be as good as practical
information (a website or phone number). I am not so much curious
about the process as interested in starting down this road, albeit
one can not yet see.

In India...

CAREER QUERIES HOTLINE
Pervin Malhotra, Tribune's career expert answers all your career
queries.

Q How does one become a tea taster? Could you please tell me about the
courses I should take up and the essential qualities needed to
succeed?

Sanjeev Agarwalr

A: Most of the tea tasters in the tea industry are trained on the job
and do not require specific qualifications though most tea companies
employ graduates. A Tea Tasters Academy has been set up in Conoor in
the Nilgiris for training new entrants into this field.

As a tea taster, your senses must be highly sensitised to discern the
flavour and aroma of different teas in order to grade and evaluate
them. It is based on his judgement that different blends of tea are
classified and released in the market.

As a Tea taster it would also help to acquire marketing and managerial
skills.

You can apply for the job of a tea taster in any of the leading tea
companies or tea gardens.

Danny

While I agree that it would be wonderful
> to become an individiual who drinks tea whilst being paid
have you seen an actual tea taster before? The process doesn't mean
you get to sit and drink tea all day, from what I've seen a
professional taster simply slurps, tastes, and spits in rapid
succession for long hours. I don't think I could do that, you wouldn't
really be able to enjoy all the tea. Still, I look forward to hearing
anyone who has some professional insight on the matter.

"TeaDave" > writes:

> While I agree that it would be wonderful
> > to become an individiual who drinks tea whilst being paid
> have you seen an actual tea taster before? The process doesn't mean
> you get to sit and drink tea all day, from what I've seen a
> professional taster simply slurps, tastes, and spits in rapid
> succession for long hours. I don't think I could do that, you wouldn't
> really be able to enjoy all the tea. Still, I look forward to hearing
> anyone who has some professional insight on the matter.
>

But wait - it gets worse. From what I've heard, in India at least,
the tea the tasters taste is brewed not for the *best* flavor but for
the *most*. That is to say, from the standpoint of a normal tea
drinker, it's way overbrewed: bitter and tannic, but containing in the
cup everything the leaves have to offer.

/Lew
---
Lew Perin /
http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html

I was given a course by a tea taster who has been 30 years in the
business and basically as I understood it these guys are very useful
at the tea auctions as the factories send the samples to these tea
tasters who can tthrough experience detect certain characteristics
about the different teas and asses their value for the auction.
Second tea tasters have to make certain blends of teas for companies
tatste the same so it realy needs a trained tongue to mix three to
four types of tea together to make a blend tatste the same year in and
out .Mainly for big companies tetley twinnings etc. A tea taster not
only helps blend teas but are sent teas by merchants for analasys and
opinions. They can in some cases taste more than a thousand teas a day
and as pointed out they may not enjoy it but that is their job. To
enjoy a tea one has to sit down or be relaxed and appreciate what they
drink.
I am tasting five teas on average a day and the more I tatste these
teas the more trained my tongue becomes its very interesting,

On Mar 28, 5:58 pm, "TeaDave" > wrote:
> While I agree that it would be wonderful
> > to become an individiual who drinks tea whilst being paid
> have you seen an actual tea taster before? The process doesn't mean
> you get to sit and drink tea all day, from what I've seen a
> professional taster simply slurps, tastes, and spits in rapid
> succession for long hours. I don't think I could do that, you wouldn't
> really be able to enjoy all the tea. Still, I look forward to hearing
> anyone who has some professional insight on the matter.

In my early apprenticeship to tea I was assigned a crusty old taster
as my "master". He was a fomidable gent, smoked a reeking tobacco
pipe and had a steely eye over his half glasses. After slurping a 100
or so samples through the afternoon I dared a question. "Er, what tea
do you drink in the evening?" The crusty old taster exploded "Tea be
damned, I drink cocoa!"

Nigel at Teacraft

COCOA , ah so thats the secret to improving the sensitivity of the
taste buds ( kidding).... I am suprised that after all the smoking
the taste buds actually worked !!

> wrote in message
oups.com...
> what are the steps one takes to become a professional tea taster?

IIRC, this was discussed earlier so you should be able to google this group
to see what's involved.

I can't recall the specifics at this time.

--
~~Bluesea~~
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