Master tea tester’s £1m tastebuds take the biscuit

ENGLAND: A master blender is to have his tastebuds insured by a leading tea company for £1m (€1.26m).

Sebastian Michaelis, one of a small group of tasters employed by Tetley, can grade a variety of tea in just 15 seconds. He spent nine years touring tea gardens in Africa and India before embarking on his career.

Michaelis said: “Blending tea, like blending whiskey or champagne, is a fine art. First, I examine and grade the colour, size and density of the leaf, then I assess the brew’s purity of colour, the weight of the tea in the mouth, and the overall liveliness of the tea on the palate.”