My first Tai Pin Hou Kui green tea – this tea has an amazing and unique appearance! I always thought it was a dragonwell, but you really need to see it to scale to grasp how cool this green tea looks!
The flavor has some notes that seem unique to this type of green tea – lightly creamy, sweet grassy, straw and cider. I love the cider notes as it has a light acidic/fruity/tang to it. I got 3 good infusions. The cold steep wasn’t as good as it was too light and not as interesting in flavor (just sweet grass/green bean)
Full review (picture heavy because this tea looks really cool) at my blog The Oolong Owl http://oolongowl.com/nonpareil-cha-wang-tai-ping-hou-kui-green-tea-teavive-tea-review/
People who liked this
Comments
(Trotted on over to the blog). Very glad to see the photos in your review. This sample is far closer to Tai Ping Hou Kui than the Camellia Sinensis version I recently tried. It is supposed to be 100% 1 leaf/1bud, no broken tea. Otherwise it cannot be called Tai Ping Hou Kui and must be called Houjian instead. At least Teavivre gets close, but loose leaves are Houjian and also 3rd and 4th leaves on the stem are to be plucked off in yet another quality check. Hence the high price. Still, from what I am seeing from your photos I’d rather buy Teavivre version. I really like the taste of this and the slight roast on the leaves.
Omg big price difference only $16.90 for Teavivre, same amount as $58 buys from Camellia Sinensis. The price from Teavivre is in line with Houjian, glad to see.
I have some TaiPing houKui that a friend brought me from China. It’s really different and good.
Maybe you got the real 10 famous tea version?
I’m going to bet not.
https://www.flickr.com/gp/cheri0627/3o2mSu
It’s the tall blue tin on the right.
OMG those blue tea tins are stunning! Looks like you brought home a Chairman Meow as well! I guess we’ll have to wait until you crack it open to know for sure.
I’ve been in it. No special markings. I don’t know what the fancy tea would look like. I can take pictures from home.
I do love the tins.
And I love my Charlie Cat. He was all about the tea that day. It was so cute.
The good stuff should all be 1 bud/1 leaf branch pressed flat and straight, and nearly all the same length. Taste will still be good and probably the same if it turns out to be single leaves, broken leaves and broken buds or any yellow leaves, this indicates a lower grade and is not supposed to be called Tai Ping. I don’t think any other tea has as strict a requirement for the name, but it is a Famous Tea after all!
Yeah, I don’t think mine was like that.
Do you have any pics? I would love to see the leaf sometime, that tin is just swell.
I forgot to take pics yesterday. I’ll take some hopefully tonight.
(Trotted on over to the blog). Very glad to see the photos in your review. This sample is far closer to Tai Ping Hou Kui than the Camellia Sinensis version I recently tried. It is supposed to be 100% 1 leaf/1bud, no broken tea. Otherwise it cannot be called Tai Ping Hou Kui and must be called Houjian instead. At least Teavivre gets close, but loose leaves are Houjian and also 3rd and 4th leaves on the stem are to be plucked off in yet another quality check. Hence the high price. Still, from what I am seeing from your photos I’d rather buy Teavivre version. I really like the taste of this and the slight roast on the leaves.
Omg big price difference only $16.90 for Teavivre, same amount as $58 buys from Camellia Sinensis. The price from Teavivre is in line with Houjian, glad to see.
I have some TaiPing houKui that a friend brought me from China. It’s really different and good.
Maybe you got the real 10 famous tea version?
I’m going to bet not.
https://www.flickr.com/gp/cheri0627/3o2mSu
It’s the tall blue tin on the right.
OMG those blue tea tins are stunning! Looks like you brought home a Chairman Meow as well! I guess we’ll have to wait until you crack it open to know for sure.
I’ve been in it. No special markings. I don’t know what the fancy tea would look like. I can take pictures from home.
I do love the tins.
And I love my Charlie Cat. He was all about the tea that day. It was so cute.
The good stuff should all be 1 bud/1 leaf branch pressed flat and straight, and nearly all the same length. Taste will still be good and probably the same if it turns out to be single leaves, broken leaves and broken buds or any yellow leaves, this indicates a lower grade and is not supposed to be called Tai Ping. I don’t think any other tea has as strict a requirement for the name, but it is a Famous Tea after all!
Yeah, I don’t think mine was like that.
Do you have any pics? I would love to see the leaf sometime, that tin is just swell.
I forgot to take pics yesterday. I’ll take some hopefully tonight.