No. 007 Why can two teas of the same type taste so different?

Two green teas.

The same family.
Leaves from the same species.
Processing that, broadly speaking, follows a similar logic.

And yet…

In the first cup, you may find a vegetal freshness, a gentle sweetness, and an almost silky sensation.

In the second, the tea may seem brighter, more floral, more mineral, or more structured.

Both are green teas.

So why do they tell such different stories?

The answer is not found solely in the processing.

Before being plucked, heated, rolled, and then dried, each leaf grew somewhere.

On a slope or in a valley.
Under bright sunlight or light filtered by mist.
In soil that was more or less acidic, well-drained, or rich in organic matter.
During a warm, cool, dry, or rainy season.

The tea plant does not go through these conditions without reacting.

It grows with them.

It adapts to them.

And part of that story ends up in the leaf.

This is the complex imprint that is often gathered under a familiar word in the world of wine, but one that is more delicate to use for tea:

terroir.

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Does tea terroir really exist?

The word "terroir" generally evokes a link between a product, a place, and the human practices that have developed there.

Applied to tea, it therefore does not refer only to the soil.

Rather, it encompasses a whole:

• climate;
• altitude;
• exposure;
• rainfall and humidity;
• soil characteristics;
• the variety cultivated;
• the harvest season;
• agricultural practices;
• and the expertise of those who process the leaves.

Research on tea has indeed shown that the growing environment, the cultivar, and the season can change the composition of the leaves, particularly their amino acids, polyphenols, caffeine, and certain aromatic precursors. But these factors act together, and their effects are not identical from one tea to another.

Terroir is therefore not a magic formula.

It is not a fragrance that the earth directly transmits to the leaves either.

Rather, it is a long series of responses by the tea plant to its environment.

The place does not pour its taste into the plant. It influences the way the plant grows.

And this nuance changes everything.

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1. Altitude: much more than a number

When a tea is presented as a "high mountain tea," altitude often becomes a quality argument.

The idea is not entirely unfounded.

As altitude increases, several parameters can change at the same time:

• average temperatures decrease;
• the difference between day and night can change;
• the radiation received by the plant changes;
• winds, mists, and humidity can differ;
• growth can become slower.

Altitude therefore acts less as an isolated cause than as a set of climatic conditions.

Several studies have observed measurable differences between leaves grown at different altitudes: variations in amino acids, catechins, flavonoids, and compounds that contribute to the aroma. In some studied situations, medium- or high-altitude teas showed greater sweetness, umami, or a different aromatic expression.

But a caveat must be added immediately.

High mountains do not guarantee great tea

A higher altitude does not automatically make a tea better.

Results vary depending on:

• region;
• cultivar;
• season;
• soil type;
• agricultural practices;
• and the processing of the leaves.

One study comparing several cultivars at different altitudes even concluded that, under the observed conditions, the cultivar had a stronger influence than altitude on several chemical characteristics of the leaves.

Thus, "grown at 1,000 meters" tells us about the origin of a tea.

That is not enough to judge its quality.

Altitude can shape a leaf. It does not replace the cultivar, the harvest, or the expertise.

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2. Light and temperature: the invisible rhythm of the tea plant

A leaf does not produce exactly the same compounds depending on the amount of light it receives, the temperature at which it grows, or the constraints it encounters.

Light contributes to the plant's overall functioning, but also to its protection mechanisms.

When conditions change, the tea plant adjusts its metabolism.

This can change the balance between:

• certain amino acids;
• polyphenols;
• pigments;
• and the compounds that will become, after processing, part of the tea's aroma.

Research conducted at different altitudes shows that variations in temperature, light, and exposure can be associated with distinct metabolic profiles in the leaves. However, the effects do not follow a simple and universal rule: the same increase in altitude does not necessarily produce the same changes depending on the cultivar or region.

This is why two gardens located at a similar altitude can still produce different leaves.

One may be exposed to the morning sun.

The other remains under mist for a long time.

One may be on a slope swept by winds.

The other is protected in a valley hollow.

On a map, they appear to be neighbors.

For the tea plant, they do not live in the same world.

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3. Rain, humidity, and growth rate

Water does not start influencing tea only when it enters your teapot.

Long before brewing, it accompanies the life of the tea plant. Later, the quality and composition of the water can further reveal or mask the tea in the cup.

Rain, air humidity, soil drainage, and periods of drought notably influence:

• the availability of water for the roots;
• the growth rate of young shoots;
• the plant's reactions to stress;
• the relative concentration of certain constituents.

A fast-growing shoot, nourished by heat and rain, does not necessarily have the same balance as a shoot that developed more slowly in cool conditions.

This does not mean that one will always be better than the other.

They may simply produce different profiles.

And this is where we understand an essential thing:

Terroir is not just a photograph of the place. It is also the rhythm that this place imposes on the plant.

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4. Soil: important, but often poorly told

Soil is probably the part of terroir that gives rise to the most shortcuts.

We sometimes read that a tea has a "mineral" taste because its roots grow in rocky soil, as if the stones dissolved directly into the cup.

The reality is more complex.

Soil can influence:

• the availability of certain nutrients;
• water retention and drainage;
• microorganism activity;
• root development;
• and, indirectly, the functioning of the plant.

Research has associated certain soil properties—such as its pH, organic matter, or the availability of several elements—with differences in the composition and aromatic precursors of the leaves. Other work also shows that soil microbial communities can vary with altitude and participate in this root environment.

But this does not allow us to establish an equation as simple as:

rocky soil = mineral taste.

Tasting is influenced by many variables, and the vocabulary used to describe a cup remains partly sensory and cultural.

Soil matters.

But it acts within a system.

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5. The cultivar: the starting personality

All tea plants belong to the genus Camellia, and most teas consumed come from Camellia sinensis.

Yet, within this species, there is a great diversity of cultivars.

A cultivar is a variety selected and multiplied for certain characteristics:

• its resistance;
• its yield;
• its growth period;
• its composition;
• its ability to produce a particular aromatic profile;
• or its adaptation to a given environment.

Two cultivars planted side by side can therefore react differently to the same climate and the same soil.

Metabolomic analyses show that the cultivar can profoundly influence the composition of the leaves and sometimes outweigh altitude in the observed differences.

The place shapes the plant.

But the plant already has its own way of responding to the place.

This is why the idea of terroir must be handled with care.

A tea is not just the expression of a place. It is the meeting between a place and a particular plant.

We will dedicate a future Tsuru to cultivars, because they alone deserve an entire journey.

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6. The season: the same garden, a different leaf

Imagine now a single garden.

The same slope.
The same soil.
The same tea plants.

But one harvest takes place in early spring.

Another a few months later.

The place has not changed.

Yet, the leaves no longer tell exactly the same story.

Temperature, day length, rainfall, growth rate, and the age of the shoots change throughout the seasons.

Several studies have found significant differences between harvests depending on the plucking period, notably in the levels of amino acids, caffeine, catechins, and other compounds that contribute to taste and aroma. In some studies, the season or harvest period even had an influence as strong as, or even stronger than, altitude.

This is why a spring tea can differ significantly from a summer tea from the same garden.

Terroir is therefore not static.

It changes with the calendar.

The place remains, but the season transforms its expression.

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7. And then comes the human hand

At this stage, two batches of leaves can already be different.

But they have not yet become the tea you will drink.

After plucking come human decisions:

• when to harvest;
• which leaves to select;
• how long to let them wither;
• how to roll them;
• how far to take the oxidation;
• at what temperature to heat them;
• how to dry or roast them.

We saw in the Tsuru n°002 dedicated to Camellia sinensis and the great families of tea that these transformations give birth to green, white, oolong, black, or dark teas.

But even within a single family, small differences in processing can profoundly change the result.

This is why two green teas from different places do not allow us to compare only two terroirs.

We are also comparing:

• two harvests;
• two cultivars;
• two workshops;
• two techniques;
• two intentions.

The producer does not merely transmit the place.

They interpret it.

What shapes the identity of a tea

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So, what do we really taste?

When you taste a tea, you never taste an isolated variable.

You taste a meeting.

The plant.
The place.
The season.
The harvest.
The processing.
And finally your water and your way of brewing.

After the work of the garden and the workshop, the water temperature and brewing time in turn reveal the balance of the leaf.

This is what makes tea so fascinating, but also so difficult to reduce to slogans.

A mountain tea is not excellent solely because it comes from high up.

A spring tea is not superior in all circumstances.

A famous soil guarantees nothing if the leaves are poorly processed.

And a remarkable producer can sometimes reveal a modest garden with extraordinary precision.

Terroir does not decide the taste alone. It offers a raw material that expertise can reveal, transform, or sometimes mask.

When terroir, harvest, and expertise meet with particular precision, certain batches take on a remarkable dimension. You can discover our selection of rare and grand cru teas.

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The Tsuru experience

Choose two teas from the same family.

For example, two green teas.

Prepare them with:

• the same water;
• the same amount of leaves;
• a suitable temperature;
• a comparable brewing time.

Then observe them without immediately looking for which one is "the best".

Instead, ask yourself:

• does one seem more vegetal?
• the other more floral?
• is the texture different?
• do you perceive more sweetness, bitterness, or astringency?
• do the leaves have the same shape?
• do they come from the same region, the same cultivar, or the same season?

You probably will not be able to attribute each sensation to a single cause.

And that is precisely the lesson.

Tasting does not always serve to solve the mystery.

Sometimes, it simply teaches us to look at it better.

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What a label can teach you

When you choose a tea, certain information can help you understand what you are buying:

The region or garden

They give a first geographical reference.

Altitude

It informs about the general environment, without constituting a guarantee of quality.

The cultivar

It indicates the variety of tea plant used.

The season or harvest date

They allow you to situate the leaf in its annual cycle.

The processing method

It explains how the raw material was interpreted.

Not all product sheets provide these details.

But the more precisely a tea is described, the more you can understand its identity—and truly compare two cups.