Professional tea tasters use a set of defined tasting terms, some of which can sound pretty odd to the rest of the world. Most people know what we might mean when we call a tea 'malty', for instance, but how about 'gutty'?

Gutty describes the ideal character of a good second flush Assam tea, so ‘guttiness' in the tea is an indicator that the second flush season (the new wave of growth that follows the first harvest) has really arrived. Good strength in Assam tea can be found throughout the year, but 'guts' only comes during May and June. During the build up to this part of the season, buyers and producers alike get quite excited, and buyers will tussle to pay extra for gutty teas.

But what does 'gutty' actually mean?

Well, a tea with guts has all round quality. All the parameters to make a cracking brew have been met during the manufacturing process, and the leaves used have also got that special second flush 'something' - because the polyphenols essential to quality tea are only present in the buds in such concentration during the second flush.

During the processing of tea, a chemical reaction takes place as the plucked and cut leaves begin to oxidise. There are two main chemical compounds essential to this process, which are formed from the oxidising polyphenols: thearubigin (TR), which is responsible primarily for 'body' and theaflavin (TF), which is responsible for brightness and flavour.

These compounds are very delicate, and the trick is in achieving a balance of the two. During oxidation, the formation rate of theaflavin (the brightness and flavour) declines at a more rapid rate than the thearubigin (body) and the ideal balance is where the TF and TR proportion is at a ratio of 1:10. Once this ratio is achieved, the chemical reaction must be halted to maintain the balance, which is done by 'firing' the tea in a dryer.

During drying, provided the right balance of TF and TR has been achieved, the sugars present (in the form of chlorophyll) caramelise, which contributes to the sweet and malty character. (Just the way I like it.)

When left to cool, a brewed gutty tea will look as though milk has been added. (See the photo at the top for an example of this.) This is known as 'creaming down'. One tea broker in Kolkata told me: "When a tea has guts you feel it in your guts, strong and thick. It creams down and gives you a real boost for the day."

As many of you already know, the Yorkshire Tea blend contains plenty of Assam, so next time you have a cup, remember that rich and satisfying kick you get is all about the guts!

Till next time!

Suzy