---
title: 'Tea evaluation and tasting'
url: 'https://howtotea.me/science/evaluation'
markdown: 'https://howtotea.me/science/evaluation.md'
lang: en
date: '2026-11-03'
description: 'How professionals judge tea: shenping under GB/T 23776-2018, cupping by ISO 3103, the GB/T 14487 and ISO 6078 vocabularies. Weights, times, cups, terms.'
---

# Tea evaluation and tasting

To compare two teas, tasters brew them identically and describe them in shared terms. A pleasant cup is beside the point.

 ![Four bowls of tea from pale green to red-brown, each with its dry leaf behind](https://howtotea.me/images/c/o/v/e/r/cover-8636c288.webp) Illustration 

Two teas can only be compared when everything else is held equal: leaf weight, water volume, time and white porcelain. On this the Chinese and international methods agree. [Shenping](https://howtotea.me/science/evaluation/shenping) under GB/T 23776-2018 calls for 3 g in 150 ml of boiling water for 4–6 minutes, or 5 g in 110 ml over three infusions for [oolong](https://howtotea.me/teas/oolong). Tasters score the finished tea on eight factors against a reference sample. The method grew out of export inspection in 1930s Shanghai.

Western [tea tasting](https://howtotea.me/science/evaluation/tea-tasting) follows ISO 3103, first published in 1980: 2 g per 100 ml, 6 minutes for [black tea](https://howtotea.me/teas/black) and 5 for whole-leaf green, brewed in a white porcelain pot with a serrated rim. Tasters look at the dry leaf, the liquor and the infused leaf.

Then the sensations need names, and the [language of taste](https://howtotea.me/science/evaluation/tasting-vocabulary) supplies them. The Chinese standard GB/T 14487-2017 defines 417 terms, ISO 6078:1982 covers black tea only, and the T/CTSS 58-2022 flavor wheel lists 155 attributes. Intensity is rated from "none" (0) to "pronounced" (5).

In this section

- [![](https://howtotea.me/images/c/o/v/e/r/cover-a36bbdd6.webp) Shenping 审评 How tea is judged in China under GB/T 23776-2018: white porcelain, 3 g in 150 ml, eight factors, scores against a standard, and the taster profession. ](https://howtotea.me/science/evaluation/shenping)
- [![](https://howtotea.me/images/c/o/v/e/r/cover-c0852594.webp) Tea tasting How professionals taste tea: ISO 3103 (2 g per 100 ml, 6 minutes), British tasters, Taiwanese and Japanese contests, and a side-by-side tasting at home. ](https://howtotea.me/science/evaluation/tea-tasting)
- [![](https://howtotea.me/images/c/o/v/e/r/cover-1c886d07.webp) Tasting vocabulary The Chinese standard GB/T 14487, the English trade vocabulary, Japanese terms and words like hui gan: how to name what you taste and train your palate. ](https://howtotea.me/science/evaluation/tasting-vocabulary)

---

## Navigation

- Parent: [Tea science](https://howtotea.me/science.md)
- Previous: [Water and extraction](https://howtotea.me/science/water-and-extraction.md)
- Next: [Teaware material and firing](https://howtotea.me/science/material-and-firing.md)
- Children:
  - [Shenping: Professional Tea Evaluation in China](https://howtotea.me/science/evaluation/shenping.md)
  - [Tea Tasting: ISO 3103 and Professional Cupping](https://howtotea.me/science/evaluation/tea-tasting.md)
  - [The Language of Taste: How to Describe Tea](https://howtotea.me/science/evaluation/tasting-vocabulary.md)