My tea smells medicinal, antiseptic or minty

In short

This is the fault that most often is not one. The note is a real and specific aromatic character found in some Darjeeling and some high-grown teas, and it is a recognised part of their profile rather than contamination. It is unsettling because English has no flattering word for it — every available description borrows from a first-aid cabinet — so a drinker meeting it assumes something is wrong. Ruling out the two things that genuinely would be wrong takes one brew.

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. It is a characteristic of the tea, and most likely a Darjeeling or a high-grown leaf

   Leaf quality

   Check: Is this a Darjeeling — particularly a first flush — or another tea grown at high altitude? Is the note present in the dry leaf, consistent across brews, and accompanied by the tea's other expected characteristics rather than replacing them?

   Fix: Then it belongs to the tea. This cooling, wintergreen-like quality is commonly described in these teas and is part of what buyers are paying for, even though the vocabulary makes it sound like a defect. It softens considerably at a lower dose and a shorter steep, and it integrates better once the cup has cooled a little, so try the same leaf lighter before deciding you dislike it.

2. 2. The note is coming from the water rather than the leaf

   Water chemistry

   Check: Does every tea you brew carry it, including ones that have never done so before? Fill a glass from the tap and smell the water on its own.

   Fix: If it is in the water it is not in the tea. Chlorine and chloramine read as chemical or swimming-pool rather than as wintergreen, but at low concentration the two get confused. Filter, or draw the water and let it stand uncovered for an hour before boiling. There is a separate record for water-borne off-notes and it covers the kettle as well.

3. 3. A scented or flavoured tea stored beside it has transferred

   Storage

   Check: Is the tea kept in a drawer or tin with a mint, eucalyptus, chai or strongly flavoured blend? Does the note sit on top of the tea's own aroma rather than inside it?

   Fix: Dry leaf absorbs ambient aroma efficiently, and mint and eucalyptus are among the most mobile things you can put near it. Separate them into sealed containers. Leaf that has already taken on a scent will not shed it, so the separation protects what is left rather than repairing anything.

4. 4. Detergent or a cleaning product on the vessel

   Equipment

   Check: Brew the same tea in a glass rinsed with hot water only, nothing else. Is the note gone?

   Fix: Then it was the washing-up rather than the leaf. Rinse teaware with hot water alone; where detergent is used, rinse far longer than seems necessary. Aroma cups and gaiwan lids are the worst affected because they are the pieces you deliberately smell.

Tea types this applies to

• Black tea

Brewing methods this applies to

• 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.

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 gets drier and harsher as it cools — The first mouthful is balanced and the last one, several minutes later, grips the tongue and feels rough — from the same cup, with nothing added.
• My tea tastes of chlorine, metal or the kettle — A chemical, swimming-pool or metallic note sits over the tea, and it is there whichever tea is brewed.
• My teapot came out of the dishwasher damaged or tasting wrong — A pot or cup returns from a dishwasher cycle dulled, with faded decoration, a fine web of surface cracks, or a persistent taste that was not there before.
• There are brown stains inside my teapot and cups — A brown or grey-brown film builds up on the inside of the pot and in the bottom of cups, and rinsing does not shift it.

Sources