Making your tea less bitter

In the Wednesday post, I mentioned that as the ratio of amino acids to polyphenols in oolongs increases, the value of the tea increases, and suggested that the reason is that polyphenols are bitter, so potentially aversive, while most of the amino acids in tea are sweet and savory (umami), giving the tea a delicious flavor.

The question is then, how can you make a lower grade oolong taste more delicious?

One way, as I will explain in my talk about cold versus hot brewed tea at World Tea Expo 2017* is to brew the tea cold, because much less polyphenol gets into the cup.

The other way is to inhibit the bitter message, which can be done with a tiny amount of salt. We will try this experiment in my other session at World Tea Expo, a focussed tasting called "Pairing with Tea: the Science of Flavors and How to Enjoy Them!" Wednesday  June 14th. Here is a diagram of taste bud cells you may have seen on this blog before:

The X from the salt-sensing cell to the bitter-sensing cell indicates inhibition. There is an X from the sweet-sensing cell to the bitter sensing cell as well, but you need relatively more sweet than salt to sense the effect.

Hope we will be to carry out this and other experiments together at WTE!


* What's in the Cup & Why You Like It: Hot Brewed vs Cold Brewed - CS49
Tuesday, 06/13/2017: 8:30 am - 10:00 am
Room: N237
Session Number:  CS49