The aroma of tea is often the main feature of a tea that makes one want to tell their friends about it.

In fact I’d go as far as to say that people love tea more for their aroma than their tastes.

That’s not surprising when the beautiful scent of tea can engulf the whole living room for as long as the teapot is sitting on top of a gentle flame.

Whereas sipping and drinking takes no more than a few seconds each time.

While most tea lovers will have their own descriptors to label their favorite teas with, there are some common words and terms that professional tasters use to describe tea aroma.

Aromatic

It’s totally possible for a beverage to exude little to no scent and fragrance.

When a tea is described as aromatic, it means that it projects a strong and rich aroma. Typically stronger than the average beverage.

You will know what this means when you walk through the front door of a specialty tea house.

Take note that when a tea has an aroma (which all teas have) but is not really strong, we don’t use aromatic as a descriptor.

Bouquet

Like a bouquet of flowers that consist of various different species of plants, when the aroma of a tea consist of a blend of unique scents, the term that refers to this is appropriately called bouquet.

As no single type of tea leaf will have many different smells, bouquet tea are almost exclusively meant to describe blends and mixes.

When you walk into a cafe serving bouquet tea, do be mindful that there is no standard to what bouquet tea consists of. It is basically just means a mix of different tea leaves with a premium sounding name.

As long as there is more than one unique scent you can describe a tea as one with bouquet aroma.

Burnt

This is self-explanatory.

You don’t need to be an expert tea taster with 20 years of experience under the belt to recognize that a tea is burnt.

Sometimes also referred to as baked or smoky, burnt tea is a result of putting the tea leaves through too much heat and moisture removal during the production process.

It leaves a nasty and sooty aftertaste.

Complex

A complex aroma is one with a rich scent yet the drinker cannot definitively pinpoint what tea leaves or substances are releasing the mix of scents.

In other words, it describes tea with a complicated aroma.

Floral

Also labeled as flowery, a floral aroma is a smell that is reminiscent of fresh cut flowers.

It’s a safe bet that if consuming a particular type of tea and you start day-dreaming that you are in a lush meadow of lavender and choisya, that it has a floral characteristic.

Flowering tea are best known for their floral aroma, partly also due to the visual impact it provides the drinker.

Fresh

An aroma that gives off an overall sense of freshness.

As most people cannot tell a fresh batch of tea leaves from one that is not as fresh even though it might still be far from the end of it’s shelf-life, if the average consumer is able to experience the fresh flavor of a particular cuppa, then it must be really really fresh.

So much so that even non-experts are able to tell.

Fruity

While it still puzzles me why some people prefer fruit tea as I believe that tea are best enjoyed as it is, there is no denying that fruit flavored tea has huge demand.

The most popular of which are blended lemon, lime, and peach tea.

However, when we talk about tea having a fruity aroma, we are not referring to blended beverages.

Teas with fruity aromas usually come from oolong that has been lightly oxidized.

Grassy

A grass-like aroma that reminds the drinker of fresh grass while running in the meadow fields.

Sometimes also referred to as vegetal, they often come from blends that are brewed with vegetables like lettuce, broccoli, beetroot, etc.

Personally, not my cup of tea.

Hay

It is surely negative connotation when infused tea is described as hay-like.

Because we are not livestock, we don’t consume hay as delicacies.

This is caused by production issues that has caused the tea leaves by be too devoid of moisture, or as dry as hay.

Heady

When a deep inhalation of a tea’s aroma leaves you in a dizzy tailspin, it is said that it has a heady aroma.

No kidding.

Some premium brews have aromas so strong and inviting that they can leave patrons feeling like they are getting high.

Either that, or that they induce some symptoms that reminds you of getting intoxicated with alcohol.

Spicy

While teas are not spicy by nature, more and more people are preferring tea mixes with spicy condiments.

However, a tea with spicy aroma does not these spicy blends.

When a tea has a spicy scent, it usually means that it has been contaminated in some way.

Maybe from storing with spice.

Woody

A woody or earthy aroma indicates tea leaves that have aged.

While this might be a cultivated taste in some types of tea like Pu-er, they usually mean contamination when found in other types of tea.