Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Life in Teacup
Tea Description:
Production Year: 2011
Production Season: Spring, Harvested on April 23rd
Production Region: Anhui Province, Yellow Mountain Region, Single Estate
Style: Hong Qing (roasted), traditional Tai Ping Hou Kui processing method
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I love Tai Ping Hou Kui tea, although, I have not had a whole lot of opportunities to try them. It is a very expensive variety of tea, and not one that I splurge on very often. Of the very few that I’ve tried, this one is definitely the best.
The dry leaves are very flat and long – averaging to about 3 – 3 1/2 inches long. The leaves are a deep, forest green color … much deeper in color than other Tai Ping teas that I’ve experienced. This is the good stuff!
The aromatic brew is a combination of vegetation and flower – evoking thoughts of a meadow of wildflowers in the spring, when the grass is green and the flowers are blooming. The air is sweet and clean, and the gentle breeze delivers hints of the flower to the nose.
The flavor is sublime. Sweet and vegetative. The vegetative notes are a little grassy and a little like freshly steamed lima beans with a touch of melted butter. There are some floral notes in the distance, and a fruit note that begins as a very slight taste and develops as I continue to sip. The fruit note really comes alive at the finish, where it tastes almost citrus-y.
A lovely tea experience. But then, I would have expected nothing less from Life in Teacup – the products they offer are always of the highest quality.
Farm Fresh Tai Ping Monkey Chief from Chi of Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Chi of Tea
About Chi of Tea:
We specialize in hard to find, high quality, organic, farm fresh loose leaf teas. It is is getting harder and harder to find fresh organic tea in today’s tea market. Tea factories aim for large harvests and quick production for the commercial tea industry. We aim for finding the highest quality, small batches of exceptional teas. Taste the difference, experience high quality tea that is no longer found on the markets, strait from small organic tea farms from around the world that focus on growing tea for the best taste, not to supply the masses. Sometimes a farm may only produce a couple pounds of tea that meet our high expectations. Our mission is to bring this exceptional tea to those who wish to experience unique, rare, high quality tea.
Taster’s Review:
I received a free sampling of this tea with a recent order, and I was so thrilled to receive it. I love Tai Ping! The dry leaf is beautiful – large, dark green, flat leaves. There is just something that draws me to Tai Ping leaves. They are truly a marvel.
And the liquor that they render is divine! It is a very light flavor, but so pleasant to sip. The mouthfeel is quite luxurious – very silky smooth. The flavor is sweet with notes of flower (honeysuckle?) and fruit within its many complex layers, with very brief hints of vegetative/grassy tones. There is very little astringency to this tea, and what little there is can be detected only well into the aftertaste when I experience a lightly dry sensation on the palate. The aftertaste is sweet.
Admittedly, I have not had the opportunity to try a lot of Tai Ping as the price can be quite prohibitive. However, of the few that I have had the chance to try, this is easily the best that I’ve tried.
As I write this review, I attempted to find this tea on the Chi of Tea website, but could not. I do hope that they will choose to start carrying it, because it is really good, and definitely worth the investment for true tea connoisseurs! This is absolutely exquisite!