I have a small confession to make.
Sometimes I have absolutely no idea what I am supposed to be tasting.
A tea description might promise orchid, honey, toasted nuts, stone fruit, and something wonderfully mysterious called a “long mineral finish.”
I take a sip.
I taste tea.
And then I start wondering if everyone else is experiencing something I am not.
Tea culture has become remarkably good at describing tea. We have tasting wheels, elaborate notes, and entire conversations dedicated to identifying the smallest details in a cup.
There is something wonderful about that. Learning how to notice flavour can make tea more interesting.
But I think we sometimes take it too seriously.
I have had teas where I could immediately understand the description. I have also had teas where someone told me I should be tasting flowers and I spent the next five minutes searching desperately for a flower that simply was not there.
Perhaps the problem is that we have started treating tasting notes like an examination.
There is a right answer.
There is a wrong answer.
And if you cannot find the notes everyone else is talking about, you start wondering whether you understand tea at all.
But tea is not a test.
Maybe you taste honey.
Maybe you taste nothing particularly identifiable.
Maybe you simply think it is delicious.
That should count for something.
I sometimes envy the freedom of people who drink tea without worrying about describing it. They take a sip, decide whether they like it, and continue with their day. No tasting wheel required.
There is a strange relief in that.
Because tea does not need to behave like wine.
It does not need a vocabulary of impressive words before we are allowed to appreciate it. Sometimes a tea is floral. Sometimes it is earthy. Sometimes it is simply the tea we wanted that afternoon.
And honestly, I think that is enough.
The more I drink tea, the less interested I become in proving that I can identify every flavour.
I would rather know whether I want another cup.
Perhaps that is a better measure of appreciation anyway.
Not whether we can describe the tea perfectly.
But whether we enjoyed drinking it.
— Maria Tan
On tea, culture, and everyday rituals.
“Rare” Tea Is Often Manufactured Scarcity: Here’s How to Tell
There is a word in tea that carries unusual power. Rare. It immediately creates curiosity. A rare harvest. A rare batch. A rare tree. A tea that may never return. The suggestion is simple: if something is difficult to obtain, it must be more valuable. Sometimes, this is true. Some teas are genuinely limited because…
-
LiHO Tea Singapore: A Greeting You Can Drink
Some words carry a whole childhood inside them. Li ho. I heard it at kopitiam tables, across corridors, from uncles who never waited for a real answer. It meant “how are you,” but it also meant I see you. So when I saw that name on a tea shop sign, somewhere in the middle of…
The Myth of “Perfect” Tea: What I Stopped Chasing
For a long time, I thought I was looking for the perfect tea. I imagined there would be a moment when I found the one. The tea that made every other tea feel unnecessary. The tea I would recommend to everyone. The tea that would finally make me understand what true appreciation was supposed to…
-
Teh O: Understanding the Tea Order Behind the Name
There is a stall near where I grew up that has changed hands twice, but the tea has stayed the same. I still remember the first time I ordered teh o on my own, sometime in my early teens, mumbling the words at the counter and half-expecting to get them wrong. The uncle didn’t blink….
-
Stop Buying Tea for the Aesthetic: How Packaging Hijacks Taste
There is something fascinating about the way we buy tea today. Before we taste the leaves, we have already formed an opinion. The box is elegant. The label is beautifully designed. The colours suggest calm, luxury, or tradition. The story feels carefully written. And before the first sip, we have already decided that the tea…
-
A Tea Table in the Clouds: The Westin Singapore High Tea Review
It was one of those afternoons when the city felt too loud and too fast, and I wanted to sit somewhere quiet without really explaining why. So I went up. All the way up, to Level 32 of The Westin Singapore, where the Lobby Lounge sits above the noise like it knows something the rest…
-
“Caffeine-Free Tea” Confuses Everyone—Let’s Fix the Language
I have noticed that tea conversations can become surprisingly confusing. Not because tea itself is complicated, but because we sometimes use the same words to mean completely different things. One phrase that always catches my attention is “caffeine-free tea.” It sounds simple enough. A tea without caffeine. But is that really what we mean? Because…
-
The Pull, Pour, and Ritual Behind Singapore’s Favourite Milk Tea: Teh Tarik
It starts with a sound. A long ribbon of tea, arcing from one metal mug held high to another held low. The stream catches the light. Then the froth rises, pale and soft, and the whole thing gets poured back and lifted again. Nobody at the stall looks up. This happens a hundred times a…
-
Stop Chasing Tasting Notes: Tea Isn’t Wine and That’s a Relief
I have a small confession to make. Sometimes I have absolutely no idea what I am supposed to be tasting. A tea description might promise orchid, honey, toasted nuts, stone fruit, and something wonderfully mysterious called a “long mineral finish.” I take a sip. I taste tea. And then I start wondering if everyone else…
-
Chinese Tea Sets: Beautiful on the Table, But How Do They Brew?
There is a small arrangement on the table this evening, and I have not touched it yet. A pale bowl with a lid resting slightly askew. A round pitcher beside it, waiting to be filled. Cups no larger than a thumb and two fingers, lined up like a quiet sentence. The surfaces catch the last…
