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“This tea was a former top 10 China tea. Today is the day I figure out how to properly prepare it. My first couple attempts were less than spectacular. I used a healthy handful of leaf in my press....” Read full tasting note
Grade: Li Jian Houkui（理尖猴魁）
Taiping Houkui Tea joined the celebrity circus in 1915 when it won the gold medal in Panama Pacific Exposition and became the youngest of the Chinese Top 10 Teas since then.
Its leaf measures up to 60 mm; it is the largest sized leaf tea among the famous green teas. It produced infusion with delicate orchid fragrance and a mellow taste which lasts up to four brewing. In a glass, the leaf gracefully sways in the water which is described as the ‘Phoenix dances’.
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This tea was a former top 10 China tea. Today is the day I figure out how to properly prepare it. My first couple attempts were less than spectacular. I used a healthy handful of leaf in my press. I heated the water until it started steaming and then turned it off. I let it set until the kettle grew completely silent. Opened the lid and let the steam escape for several seconds. Then poured it over the leaf. I went about one minute on the steep.
The leaf smells of buttery vegetables. That is a good start. The cup is cool enough I can sip immediately. The water temperature seems correct now, but the steep time needs to be increased. There is nothing off tasting, it is just not strong enough. As it cools a little more, it takes on a sweet creamy light vegetal flavor. I am on the right track as this isn’t bad.
For cup two, I used the same method on the water but steeped two minutes. Ah ha! This cup I can say I enjoy. It starts light green, then the taste switches to a memory. I can’t describe the taste, I can only tell you, it tastes like water from a fountain in a near by state forest from back when I was a kid. We would stop our bikes at this fountain every time we passed it, just to get a sip. As this moment in the way back machine ends, for Mr. Peabody and his pet boy Sherman, I notice the aftertaste is a light bitter flavor reminiscent of, but not exactly, dandelions.
This is not likely to become a favorite, however with some work, I have learned to appreciate it and even enjoy it.
Upping the rating.
Your tea did well for you and you for your tea. It time machined you and you gave it time to do so. Bravo! You grabbed the brass ring on the merry-go-round and got the water fountain taste!
I Think I grabbed hold of my inner Bonnie for a brief moment.
Glad you did it! Taiping Hou Kui is a great tea.
lol KS
Oh, I can just hear the off-key muted trumpets now…“Hey, Bullwinkle!” “Now watch me pull a rabbit out of this hat..”
:) No doubt about it, I gotta get another hat!
I like the picture too.
I thought I felt a little tug awhile back….