Terroir in the Leaves

The term Terroir is not only the taste of place but also a result of human intervention.  Terroir is a give and take relationship. It’s an innate understanding of one’s environment, as well as the role one plays in this relationship. Nature imparts certain traits to a place, and it’s our job as stewards to help guide these unique traits along their path to optimum levels of enjoyment.

-Glenn Tippy (Edited by Nora Hantula, Lliam Carlton)

When applied to tea, our groups definition of terroir allows us to attribute different tasting teas to terroir. We can’t say for certain if the tastes and aromas we experience while drinking tea comes from the certain soil or microclimates in which the tea is grown. But with certainty, we can differentiate between different roasting and processing/oxidation methods. We agree that teas with a less oxidization percentage have more floral and sweet characteristics , while teas with a higher percentage of oxidization begin to develop earthier and chard-like characteristics. Within our definition of terroir, the processing method is just as much a component of terroir as soils and micro climates.

-Glenn Tippy (Edited by Nora Hantula, Lliam Carlton)