Blind Tea Tasting Set #2

Spot the black sheep! This set of four anonymized teas are of very similar categories, but one has been processed differently. Identifying it, and learning what can distinguish teas of this second category will be the taster's main challenge here.

The samples arrive in pouches numbered from #1 to #4. Along with the samples, you will receive a link to a page that will reveal the name and nature of the teas, to be viewed after the tasting.

Some questions to ask oneself while tasting Set #2 are:

• Smell the leaves in the pouch before looking at them. Can you guess the tea category? Can you narrow it further down? Have a guess as to which one differs.
• What do the appearance of the leaves suggest about the style of their processing?
• Tasting and smelling the teas, which notes are shared amongst all teas, and which are unique?
• Try to pick the odd one out. What distinguishes it from the other three? What unites the remaining teas, versus how they vary?
  
• How does your current guess compare to your first one, and how certain do you feel about it? Rank the teas in order of most to least likely the odd one out.
  
• If you can, try to guess the type and origin for each of them.

For an extra challenge, have someone else prepare the infusions or prepare them without looking at the leaves. Try to answer the relevant questions above. (See our video Find the Black Sheep for techniques for doing blind tastings by yourself.)