Overview
ISO 18449:2025 - Green tea - Vocabulary is an International Standard that establishes a common set of terms for classifying and assessing green tea in commercial trade. The second edition (2025) provides standardized definitions covering green tea types, dry leaf characteristics, liquor quality, and infused-leaf attributes. It is intended to improve clarity in the tea trade, support consistent product description and minimise misunderstandings between producers, traders, tasters and consumers.
Key topics and technical scope
This vocabulary standard focuses on descriptive terminology rather than test methods. Main technical topics include:
- Classification of green tea: clear terms for product types such as pan-fired, roasted (e.g., Hojicha), sun-dried, steamed, broken/graded, and matcha.
- Dry leaf - appearance: a comprehensive list of descriptive terms (for example, bent, curled, needle, shotty, tippy, open, tight, flaky, smooth, stalky) used to describe shape, roll, particle size and sorting.
- Dry leaf - colour: standard descriptors (bright, deep green, brown, blackish/dark, dull) to describe leaf colour characteristics relevant to quality.
- Quality of liquor: vocabulary for assessing taste and colour of liquor - how brewed tea is judged by professional tasters.
- Infused leaf: terms for appearance and aroma of wet leaves after infusion.
- Illustrative annexes: Annexes A–E include picture examples for defined terms; Annexes F–G provide taste and aroma wheels to support intuitive use.
- Normative references: this document contains no normative references and is primarily definitional.
Practical applications
ISO 18449:2025 is practical for anyone who needs consistent, internationally understood language about green tea:
- Tea producers and processors - to label and describe product grades consistently.
- Tea traders, importers/exporters and retailers - for clearer commercial specifications and contracts.
- Professional tea tasters and quality-control teams - to standardize sensory reports and grading notes.
- Regulatory bodies and standards organizations - to align labelling, marketing and trade communication.
- Product development, marketing and consumer information - to accurately describe appearance, aroma and liquor characteristics in catalogs and e‑commerce.
Who should use this standard
- Tea estates and manufacturers, packers
- Commodity traders and exporters/importers
- Sensory panels and QA laboratories in the tea sector
- Certification bodies and regulators
- Tea educators, sommeliers and beverage product developers
Related standards
- ISO 11287 - requirements for green tea (complements this vocabulary)
- ISO 6078 and ISO 3720 - vocabulary and requirements for black tea (contextual references used historically in tea standardization)
Using ISO 18449:2025 helps harmonize green tea terminology across markets, supporting transparent commerce and reliable sensory evaluation.