What blanks would you fill in a tea-journal?
So a long time ago I decided to make a little “tea-tasting journal”; I figured I would design little pages for it with little tea leaves floating around the pages and assorted quotes about tea at the bottom of the page. Planned on making the pages 5 1/2″ × 8 1/2" (a standard sheet of copy paper folded in half) and make it available as a PDF so it would be easy for anyone to print out and sew/staple/etc it together for their own use. It’s just sort of a cute alternative to a plain notebook for those like myself that enjoy hand-writing their tasting notes.
Then I got sidetracked and completely forgot about the whole thing until today, while I was cleaning out my computer and stumbled on the project files, hah. So I’m toying with the idea of finishing it.
Here’s an example spread, if it helps: http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w184/Amaikokonut/1c5dd381.png
The real question though, is what to do with the blanks. Because everyone has different information that’s important to them when tasting tea, but I’m hoping to make it generic enough that anyone can use without it, without making it so generic that it looks like stationary or is no better than a standard notebook.
Right now I have Tea (for… the name of the tea!), Date (of tasting), Origin (kept this generic so it could be brand name, vendor, or even estate name), Brewing Parameters (time/temperature/leaf-water ratio/etc., again, kept pretty generic), Additives (for if milk/sugar/honey/lemonade/etc is added), and then general Description for everything else. At the bottom there’s an Overall Rating, which could be numerical (much like the scoring system here) or just descriptive (like “Acceptable” “Would drink again” “Toilet-water” or “Going to buy ten pounds of this right now”).
I’m thinking of doing away with the “additives” blank, seems a little too specific to me and would be wholly useless to purists. Also not really sure if the “overall rating” is something everyone would use.
I’ve also considered getting really detailed with blanks like flavor notes, body/mouthfeel, etc., but I’m thinking those could get a little intimidating for some people.
And finally, “brewing parameters” used to be expanded into Time, Temperature, and Leaf/Water ratio, but that just seemed like a lot of blanks for really simple information, and besides that, “time” isn’t a blank I personally would use at all when dealing with eastern-style brewing, since it’s something I tend to feel out rather than actually time. I wouldn’t be completely opposed to separating it out again though (maybe just a time/temp blank and another for leaf/water ratio).
There’s always the option of having multiple versions of the journal too, for those that prefer more/less detail, but I’d like to avoid that if possible, or at least put it off until the standard version is complete.
Sorry, I tend to ramble. But the point is, I’m just one tea-drinker here, so I’d like to get some input from others! Are there any blanks you think would be worth adding, removing, or changing? Would you even consider using something like this? Would really appreciate any input <: Thanks!
What a great idea! I try to keep a spreadsheet of most of my teas – it is less a tasting note log and more of an overall impressions log.
These are my categories at the moment:
Tea
Type (green, oolong, etc)
Origin (as in country or region)
Brand
Price/oz
Leaf (appearance of leaves)
Color (of tea)
Brewing Notes
Tasting Notes (the most important!)
Overall Impression (how interesting is it, how does it compare with other teas I like, is it worth the price, would I buy it again, etc)
I’m sure everyone uses different categories depending on the kinds of tea they drink or what they look for in a tea. For instance, I don’t often add anything to my tea, so on the occasion that I do, I would just make a note under “Brewing Notes” that it was good with milk or whatnot rather than having an “Additives” category.
Also, it would be interesting to hear from someone who drinks lots of flavored teas – what categories would you include? An “Additives” category might be useful here, as you might want to know what else is in it besides tea.
I think it would be nice to have tea-types under the Tea name.
Like you could horizontally write the types: White, Green, Black, Oolong, Rooibos, ect ect. and then on the end of that line write Other:_________ just in case you missed a type. The tea-journalist can circle the type of tea they drank. Sometimes tea names don’t have the tea type in their name. Example: “Mudslide.” What is mudslide? OH it’s a rooibos goes and circles rooibos option
:)
I have made a few other logs and I opt for the quick circle, not the long open space to fill in. I understand that art is a tea, and needs some space… and that is to your discretion.
I might recommend though that there are notes on the flush of the tea (which picking) and perhaps the place you found the tea (the store or tea room, as you might want to try it again some time). I also agree with “wokeup,” it might also be worth noting the current price per ounce of the tea.
This is really cool! A couple thoughts.
- I do agree that the additives isn’t necessary. Someone who is a tea purist, who is going to bother keeping notes, is most likely not going to add stuff to their tea most of the time. If they do, they can always add it to their notes
- I’m not a huge fan of the “list all the teas and then circle which one” because there are SO many different types of teas and it seems kinda clunky to list them all out in a line. And what teas get included? Black, Green, and Herbal are obvious, but is Flavored, Chai, and Rooibos a valid category, too? I guess you could just put one letter or abbreviation for them. I may be in the minority on this one, though.
- You COULD have different colors for different types of teas, just to make it easier for someone to sort through their teas. You could use Black, Green, Grey (for White), Red (for Rooibos/Herbal), etc.
- I agree keeping Brewing Parameters as one line. You don’t need much space to write: 3g, 180 degrees, 5 min … you know?
- Another suggestion might be to add a star in the corner, or some way to mark the tea as a favorite. I guess the person could do this themselves, but just a thought.
- I would keep the description field as big as possible, especially to leave room to notate multiple infusions.
This is an awesome idea! I already have a blank journal that I write in my own lines. This is what I typically use for now:
-Name of tea, Type of tea, Harvest date
-Date of tasting
-Rating (it’s pretty generic)
-Name of Company and Origin
-Brewing Parameters (including time and temp for each infusion, mug or gaiwan style, how many infusions, etc)
-Appearance of dry leaf
-Scent of dry leaf
-Wet leaf appearance and scent
-Infusion (including color and scent)
-Taste (including everything from mouthfeel to aftertaste for each individual infusion and if it reminds me of another tea, a memory or place)
I think what you have is pretty good and generic. It has plenty of room for people who don’t have a lot to write and enough room for those who like to add more.
I use my Excel program as my tea journal. I log :
Tea name,
company,
type of tea (such as black, green, etc.),
rating,
steeping parameters,
tasting comments,
and whether it is good cold brewed or not
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