London: A professional tea taster in the UK who can taste and grade more than 1,500 different varieties of tea has had his tastebuds insured for 1 million pounds.
Sebastian Michaelis claims he can taste and grade any one of more than 1,500 different varieties of tea in just 15 seconds.
Michaelis works for Tetley and uses a "slurp and spit" technique to "identify the finer notes" and judge the "zing, colour, sparkle and body".
Michaelis said Tetley has spent a lot of money and time on him and that is why they have insured his tastebuds.
"I've had to travel round the world, visit producers, understand everything about tea and we use a special language," he said.
Michaelis underwent five years of intensive training that made him a "master blender", 'Sky News' reported.
"Tea, like wine, will change depending on the amount of sunshine and rain it gets - so it's always changing taste. We know exactly how to blend it together so it tastes the same," Michaelis said.
