tannic

Think of strong black tea: that dry, puckering feeling in your mouth is often due to tannins. "Tannic" describes something that contains a lot of those compounds or has that kind of dry, bitter effect. It is most often used for wine, tea, and some fruits, such as unripe persimmons. A tannic wine might feel rough or drying on the tongue, and tannin-rich tree bark was once used in leather-making.

The word comes from tannins themselves. These natural plant compounds affect flavor and texture. You can think of it as a quality that adds depth, but also a certain grip. A sommelier might describe a wine as "highly tannic," meaning it has a strong presence of these compounds.

"Tannic" describes something that contains tannins or shows the dry, astringent effect they cause. Tannins are natural compounds found in many plants, especially in bark, fruit skins, seeds, leaves, and wood. They are responsible for the puckering sensation you get from strong black tea, dark chocolate, or unripe fruit.

The word is linked to the old process of tanning leather. Tannins bind to proteins, which helped make animal hides more durable and resistant to decay. That older practical use is where the name comes from.

Today, "tannic" is most often used to describe drinks such as wine and tea. A tannic wine is not necessarily bad; it simply has a noticeable amount of tannins, which give it structure and a drying feel in the mouth. Red wines are usually more tannic than white wines because they spend more time in contact with grape skins and seeds.

Beyond beverages, "tannic" can also describe other plant materials with a high tannin content, such as certain kinds of bark, wood, or unripe fruit. You may also see it in botanical or food-related writing. For example, someone might describe an unripe persimmon as intensely tannic, or refer to oak bark as tannic because of the compounds it contains.

So whether you are swirling a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon or describing the sharp dryness of strong tea, "tannic" points to the presence of tannins and the bitter, mouth-drying quality they create.