A nice cuppa tea. Some like their tea lightly steeped, others want more power, more oomph. As you can see in this side by side comparison, the tea on the right will offer a robust mouth experience.
Much of the difference in these cups of tea is the amount of tannin that they have. Tannin is the grippy compound that makes your mouth feel like it is drying out, or like your tongue is covered with sandpaper, kind of like a cat's tongue. You can also experience tannin in walnut skins, banana peels and red wine.
Red wine gets its tannin from the juice sitting on the skin, seeds and stems of the grapes, in addition to tannin added from oak barrels during fermentation or aging. The amount of tannin in the finished wine is initiated by the type of grapes used and finished by the choices of the winemaker.
Red wines typically seen in the U.S. generally fall in the following order of tannic strength... Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah/Shiraz. Each of these wines can be seen as heavier and heavier sandpaper for your tongue.
And you need light sandpaper for light foods, (a flank steak on a bed of greens = Pinot Noir) and heavy sandpaper for heavy jobs, (a Rib Eye steak with Bernaise sauce = Cabernet Sauvignon or Syrah.) The higher the fat content in the food, the more tannin is needed to cleanse the mouth after each bite.
The saying, "Fat and tannin are friends," is a great way to remember that the richer more fatty the food, the stronger, more tannic you want the wine to go with it.
Much of the difference in these cups of tea is the amount of tannin that they have. Tannin is the grippy compound that makes your mouth feel like it is drying out, or like your tongue is covered with sandpaper, kind of like a cat's tongue. You can also experience tannin in walnut skins, banana peels and red wine.
Red wine gets its tannin from the juice sitting on the skin, seeds and stems of the grapes, in addition to tannin added from oak barrels during fermentation or aging. The amount of tannin in the finished wine is initiated by the type of grapes used and finished by the choices of the winemaker.
Red wines typically seen in the U.S. generally fall in the following order of tannic strength... Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah/Shiraz. Each of these wines can be seen as heavier and heavier sandpaper for your tongue.
And you need light sandpaper for light foods, (a flank steak on a bed of greens = Pinot Noir) and heavy sandpaper for heavy jobs, (a Rib Eye steak with Bernaise sauce = Cabernet Sauvignon or Syrah.) The higher the fat content in the food, the more tannin is needed to cleanse the mouth after each bite.
The saying, "Fat and tannin are friends," is a great way to remember that the richer more fatty the food, the stronger, more tannic you want the wine to go with it.
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