77
drank Tai Ping Hou Kui by Teavana
300 tasting notes

Back logging from yesterday when I had a horrible migraine, that kept me in bed at my parents house, while they entertained my son, most of the day. When the husband came and rescue us, we came home and I brewed this. I have two supplies of this. One in the long green tin pictured above that I got on sale 75% off (all my customers bought one too because hello $7! The other is in the Forbidden Kingdom Collection, also on sale, which is the one I chose to open. There was .64 ounces in the tiny foil bag that I thought could not possibly pour into the small square tin. It is actually a lot of tea as some of the leaves are over 3 inches long.

I really did forget just how large they were, we tried it once at work over the summer when we had first gotten them in. Our barista made the brewing seem complicated and let them sit too long waiting for the leaves to dance. It didn’t result in a bitter brew, just a very bland one. But this tea is meant to be brewed in glass and is perfect in my glass infuser mug. I simply preheated, then poured the water against the wall of the mug and voila! Beautiful phoenix dancing! Though honestly it reminds me more of mermaids as the long green leaves move like kelp but either way, beautiful.

I steeped for 1 min, though next time I’ll try it for 2 as the reviewer above mentioned fruit notes I didn’t get. What I did get was sweet, very very sweet, only green tea I’ve had that was possibly sweeter was Fuji served at NoodleCat which I need to go back to both for the noodles and to get the name of the woman who locally supplies their tea. But yes, very sweet, but not much else going on, sure the brewed leaves smell vegetal, but there’s not a hint of it in the brewed cup. Subsequent steeps were mild as well. Still this was lovely to watch brew and to sip on and well worth the price.

Preparation
170 °F / 76 °C 1 min, 0 sec

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Bio

Druid, artist, poet, mum, lover of tea, ritual and myth. I grew up on Celestial Seasons herbals but fell in love with straight loose leaf tea working at my local Teavana for a year. I am grateful for the introduction and the experience, but have moved on.

I see tea as an experience for the senses, I like to imagine tasting the land and the weather as well as the effect of sun, air, fire and the human hand. I have a soft spot for shu pu’er, yabao, scented oolongs, wuyi oolongs, taiwanese tea as well as smooth naturally sweet blacks, creamy greens and surprisingly complex whites.

I began ordering lots of samples from Upton to educate myself on different varieties of tea we didn’t have at work and have fallen head over heels for the unique offerings from Verdant Tea. I am learning things I like: buttery mouthfeel, surprising sweet or spice notes, woodiness, mineral notes, depth and complexity and things I don’t: astringency, dry and sour notes.

I collect tea tins and am in danger of collecting pots, though I am trying to restrain the urge due to current lack of space. I brew mostly in a glass infuser mug or a tea maker, only using cast-iron for company now (still need to get a gaiwan) and tend not to sweeten my teas unless they are British or fruity and iced, which is not often.

As far as ratings, I lack a definite system and haven’t been assigning numbers lately, wanting to spend multiple sessions with a tea first. I usually only log a tea once, unless it is a new harvest or I have significantly different observations, but will go back and edit or comment if I find something interesting or new.

Location

Baker Street, Berea, Ohio

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