Japanese Tea Aroma Wheel

A reconstruction of the wine aroma wheel for Japanese tea. Each of the 8 categories maps descriptors to specific teas and explains why they appear.

Japanese tea aroma differs fundamentally from wine. The same cultivar can produce dramatically different aromas through a single process called 'withering' (icho). This 'process shapes aroma' structure is captured in the origin field (cultivar / process / terroir / aging).