Glossary
There are many terms and expressions in the coffee and tea world that may be difficult to understand to the novice. We have compiled a list of the most commonly used terms for you. Click a letter below....
Terms begining with 'B'
Barista
A person who makes coffee drinks as a profession.
Batch Roaster
A machine that roasts a given quantity at one time.
Bitter
It is a harsh, unpleasant taste detected towards the back of the tongue. This characteristic is of over-extracted brews and over-roasted coffees or those with various taste defects. Dark roasts are intentionally bitter.
Bland
The pale flavour often found in low grown Robusta coffees or in washed Arabica coffees such as Guatemalan Low Grown.
Blend
A mixture of two or more individual varieties of coffee.
Bodum
This is a trade name of a specific brand of French press/plunger pot. Though common usage, the name has become somewhat synonymous with the term French press pot. See French Press/plunger pot.
Body
The tactile impression of the weight and consistency of the coffee. The feeling of coating the tongue, light, medium, or full, is the result of the amount of sediment or oil present in the coffee. The characteristic may range from thin to buttery and syrupy.
Bouquet
The fragrance, aroma, nose and aftertaste of brewed coffee.
Breve
Cappuccino made with light cream.
Bright
Tangy acidity is often described as bright.
Briny
The salty sensation caused by excessive heat after brewing.
Buttery
A rich and oily flavor.
Baggy
An unpleasant taste, normally resulting from the tea being carried or wrapped in unlined hessian bags.
Bakey
An over-fired tea with the result that too much moisture has been driven off the leaf while drying.
Ball tea
China tea compressed in a ball to protect it against atmospheric changes.
Basket-fired
Japan tea that has been cured in baskets by firing or drying.
Billy tea
Tea made by Australian bushmen in billy cans.
Biscuity
A pleasant aroma often found in well-fired Assam.
Bitter
An unpleasant taste associated with raw teas.
Bitter Tea
Tea brewing method used in Cashmere. Tea is boiled in a tinned copper vessel, red potash, aniseed and salt are added before it is served from a brass or copper, tinlined teapot.
Black
A black appearance is desirable preferably with 'bloom'.
Black Tea
Tea that has been fired or dried after the fermentation or oxidisation period of manufacture.
Blackish
A satisfactory appearance for CTC type teas. Denotes careful sorting.
Blend
Tea taster who decides on the proportions of each different tea required to produce the flavour of a given blend.
Bloom
A sign of good manufacture and sorting (where reduction of leaf has taken place before firing) a 'sheen' that has not been lost through over-handling or over-sorting.
Body
A liquor having both fullness and strength as opposed to being thin.
Bohea
Tea from the Wu-i Hills in Fukien, China. Originally was applied to black China tea and to tea from Indonesia. In the 18th century Bohea (Bo-hee) was the name given to the tea drink.
Bold
Particles of leaf which are too large for the particular grade.
Brassy
Unpleasant metallic quality similar to brass. Usually associated with unwithered tea.
Break
An amount of tea, comprising a given number of chests or sacks of tea.
Brick tea
Common grades of China and Japan tea mixed with stalk and dust and moulded into bricks under high pressure. Originally, these bricks were used by Asian travellers as a convenient way of carrying the tea they needed to drink and the bricks were also used to barter for other goods.
Bright Tea
A lively bright appearance, which usually indicates that the tea will produce a bright liquor.
Brisk
The most 'live' characteristic. Results from good manufacture.
Broker
A tea taster who negotiates the selling of tea from producers, or the buying of tea for packers and dealers, for a brokerage fee from the party on whose behalf the broker is working.
Burned
Taint caused by extreme over drying during manufacture.
Butter Tea
Boiled tea mixed with salt and soda, then strained into an urn containing butter and dried ground cereal (often barley) and churned. Butter tea is served in a basin and often a lump of butter is added when serving. It was served in Tibet and then in India.