Senior Tea Taster

Job Title: Senior Tea Taster

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Company Overview:

Senior Tea Taster

Role Overview:

The Senior Tea Taster will play a critical role in maintaining and elevating the quality standards of our teas. This role demands deep sensory evaluation skills, market understanding, and the ability to source, blend, and ensure consistency across diverse tea varieties. The position will involve working closely with the procurement, production, and sales teams to support sourcing, blend development, and quality control processes.

Key Responsibilities:

• Tasting & Evaluation:

• Evaluate teas across all origins (Assam, Darjeeling, Dooars, Nilgiris, etc.) for liquor, aroma, leaf grade, and cup quality.
• Maintain tasting notes, reports, and quality benchmarks.

• Sourcing & Procurement Support:

• Assist in selecting teas during auction and private sales.
• Guide procurement decisions based on market trends and client requirements.

• Blend Development:

• Create and standardize tea blends based on customer specifications or in-house requirements.
• Maintain consistency in taste profile across batches.

• Quality Assurance:

• Ensure teas meet internal quality and food safety standards.
• Collaborate with QC and production teams to address deviations.

• Market & Client Collaboration:

• Stay updated on global tea trends and consumer preferences.
• Participate in client tastings and product development discussions as needed.

• Mentoring & Training:

• Lead and mentor junior tea tasters and quality control team members.
• Organize internal tasting sessions to improve team palate sensitivity.

Key Requirements:

• Experience:

  Minimum 5 years of relevant experience in tea tasting, grading, and procurement.

• Education:

  Graduate in any discipline; specialized training or certifications in tea tasting/tea management preferred.

• Skills:

• Exceptional sensory and palate acuity.
• Deep understanding of tea grades, regions, seasonal variations.
• Strong communication and documentation skills.
• Ability to work under pressure and tight timelines.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office

Preferred Qualities:

• Strong industry network across North & South Indian gardens.
• Familiarity with international quality standards and export market expectations.
• Strategic thinking with a flair for innovation in blend creation.

Compensation:

Commensurate with experience and industry standards.