I cannot taste the difference between my expensive tea and my cheap one

In short

Sometimes this is a real observation about the teas and sometimes it is an artefact of how they were tasted. Working through it in order is worthwhile, because the answer is occasionally that the expensive tea is not worth the money and more often that the comparison was never set up to show a difference.

Likely causes, in order

Most likely first. Answer the question under each one before moving on — several of these look alike in the cup and are told apart only by what was done to the leaf.

1. 1. The two were not tasted side by side

   Technique

   Check: Were they drunk on different days?

   Fix: Brew both at the same time, same dose, same water, same temperature, and taste them alternately. Sensory memory across days is poor, and almost nobody can hold a cup in mind well enough to compare it with one from last week.

2. 2. Parameters that flatten both teas

   Over-extraction

   Check: Are you brewing both hard and long?

   Fix: Brew both lighter and shorter. A long hard steep pushes every tea towards the same bitter, astringent baseline, and it is where price differences disappear fastest.

3. 3. Water that suppresses aroma in both

   Water chemistryInferred by TeaHQ, not established

   Check: Have you tried the comparison with filtered water?

   Fix: Repeat with a low-mineral or filtered water. Hard water flattens aroma, and aroma is where most of the difference between price tiers lives.

4. 4. The two are further apart in style than in quality

   Leaf quality

   Check: Are they the same type, region and season?

   Fix: Compare like with like — two sencha, or two Dan Cong. Comparing a cheap black tea with an expensive green tea tests nothing about price.

5. 5. The expensive tea is priced on scarcity rather than on the cup

   Leaf quality

   Check: Is it a famous village name, an old-tree claim, or a tiny production?

   Fix: Accept the finding. A great deal of tea is priced by rarity, name and provenance, and there is no obligation to perceive a difference that is not in the cup.

6. 6. Something is masking the tea

   Technique

   Check: Have you eaten, smoked or drunk anything strong recently?

   Fix: Taste at a neutral time with plain water to hand. Toothpaste in particular flattens tea completely for some time afterwards.

Brewing methods this applies to

• Gongfu brewing (gaiwan) — A high-leaf, low-volume, many-infusions approach: a great deal of leaf in a small vessel, steeped for seconds at a time and poured off completely, repeatedly.
• Western brewing (teapot or mug) — A small amount of leaf in a large volume of water, steeped once for a few minutes and then strained off. The approach most English-speaking drinkers already know, and the one most teas sold in the West are made for.

When this cannot be fixed

It is a legitimate outcome to conclude that a costly tea is not worth its price to you. Preference is not a skill deficit, and a reference work cannot tell you that a difference you cannot find is one you should be paying for.

Related problems

Sharing a cause category, a tea type or a brewing method with this one.

• My green tea tastes flat and looks dark in this house — A delicate green tea that tasted bright elsewhere comes out dull and heavy here, with a darker, browner liquor than it should have and none of its aroma.
• My tea arrived broken, with dust at the bottom of the packet — Whole-leaf tea bought at a whole-leaf price contains a lot of fragments, and there is fine material in the bottom of the bag.
• I filtered my water and the tea got worse — After switching to filtered, distilled or reverse-osmosis water the tea is cleaner and emptier — no off-notes, and no body either. It tastes thin and slightly hollow.
• Leaves stick to the cup, the pot and my teeth — Fine leaf clings to the inside of the vessel, comes through into the cup, and ends up in the last mouthful.
• My gaiwan is too hot to hold — The rim and lid become uncomfortable within seconds, the pour is rushed, and tea ends up on the tray.

Sources