Ahh summer is slowly coming to an end, as the climate slowly cools, I crave more and more tea per day. I’ve tried several Tai Ping Houkui’s before but never thought much of them (as a matter of fact I just noticed a previous note for Harney & Son’s version was not uploaded… oh well I’ll repost it later). I splurged on this one just because of one thing and one thing only, the photos of the dry leaf. The pictures Redblossom put up are just so beautiful. Considering I have not (yet) been dissapointed with their quality, I figured, “huh, maybe this is the real deal, how a good tai ping is supposed to be,” so I went ahead with the impulse buy and got some.
>Dry Leaf Appearance/Aroma
Beautiful. DEEP vibrant green leaves, super long and unbroken, with a very fresh green grassy smell. The best looking Tai Ping I’ve personally encountered.
>Brewing Method
Following Redblossom’s suggested brew guidelines; 4 grams of leaf, 180F water, 1 min 30 sec steep time.
>Liquid Appearance
Clear yellow green.
>Taste/Aroma
The first cup gives off a very vegetal smelling cup, with some grassy notes.
The first cup overall was also the most flavorful, being light and smooth, subtly sweet, hints of grass, ending with a clean mouth feel. No bitterness at all and very resilient to several infusions. Each subsequent infusion lost some flavor little by little but remained very similar to the first. I was able to re-steep this guy about 7 times, it just kept giving and giving!
>Wet Leaf Appearance
The leaves slowly unfold to show their “true” leafy shape, but not all of them do. From a vibrant green the become a dull yellow green after several infusions.
>Overall
Of the several Tai Ping Houkui’s I’ve had, I can safely say this one was the tastiest one. But my main gripe with this kind of tea, is that I feel it tastes just too plain, I’ve never understood why (in some places/lists) this is considered a famous tea. There is nothing special to it that makes crave it like crazy like some other teas do. I figured Redblossom’s version would provide an epiphany similar to my experience with Dragonwell, but it was not meant to be.
Again, I’ve found this the best one I’ve tried, but Tai Ping Houkui just does not intrigue me as much as other greens. Still, a very tasty and good tea.
