What Green Are You Drinking

[Léon]

What's TPHK, please?

[GaoShan]

What's TPHK, please?

It's Tai Ping Hou Kui. The huge flat leaves look cool, but I don't have any experience brewing them. They wouldn't fit in any of my teapots!

[teatray]

It's Tai Ping Hou Kui. The huge flat leaves look cool, but I don't have any experience brewing them. They wouldn't fit in any of my teapots!

I think it tastes best when you just put a generous bunch of leaves in a mug or glass. The large leaves are easy to evade when drinking & it doesn't get too strong while you wait for it to cool, since it's kinda subtle, but it can be very nice. (You may get up to a few tasty refills; some people say it's best to refill while half-full or so but I didn't notice that much of a difference--if anything, I think I prefer drinking it dry before refilling, YMMV.)

I'm curious how YC's TPHK compares to more expensive offerings from Hojo, Sazen, etc. The green looks kinda dull in the pictures, but that may be just camera/lighting. Even if it's less vibrant but similar in taste, it'd be an exceptional deal.

vendr name of tea----- code-- pack shp ccy USD--- $/g
YunCr Tai Ping Hou Kui G026-- 100g $ 19.20 $19.20 $0.19
Hojo- Taiping Hou Kui- G07C-- 090g ¥ 9,800 $62.30 $0.69
Hojo- TPHK Spec Trib-- G10C-- 090g ¥12,600 $80.10 $0.89
Sazen TPHK 2023 clrnce TCH078 010g ¥ 1,080 $ 6.87 $0.69
Sazen Tai Ping Hou Kui TCH091 010g ¥ 2,700 $17.16 $1.72


Note: Sazen only sell 10g packs (make sure to switch to JPY pricing, if shopping there, to get better prices).

[GaoShan]

It's Tai Ping Hou Kui. The huge flat leaves look cool, but I don't have any experience brewing them. They wouldn't fit in any of my teapots!

I think it tastes best when you just put a generous bunch of leaves in a mug or glass. The large leaves are easy to evade when drinking & it doesn't get too strong while you wait for it to cool, since it's kinda subtle, but it can be very nice. (You may get up to a few tasty refills; some people say it's best to refill while half-full or so but I didn't notice that much of a difference--if anything, I think I prefer drinking it dry before refilling, YMMV.)

I'm curious how YC's TPHK compares to more expensive offerings from Hojo, Sazen, etc. The green looks kinda dull in the pictures, but that may be just camera/lighting. Even if it's less vibrant but similar in taste, it'd be an exceptional deal.

vendr name of tea----- code-- pack shp ccy USD--- $/g
YunCr Tai Ping Hou Kui G026-- 100g $ 19.20 $19.20 $0.19
Hojo- Taiping Hou Kui- G07C-- 090g ¥ 9,800 $62.30 $0.69
Hojo- TPHK Spec Trib-- G10C-- 090g ¥12,600 $80.10 $0.89
Sazen TPHK 2023 clrnce TCH078 010g ¥ 1,080 $ 6.87 $0.69
Sazen Tai Ping Hou Kui TCH091 010g ¥ 2,700 $17.16 $1.72


Note: Sazen only sell 10g packs (make sure to switch to JPY pricing, if shopping there, to get better prices).

Thanks for the tip! Mug brewing can produce surprisingly nice green tea.

I haven't had any green teas from YC that weren't from Yunnan. I had a Huo Shan Huang Ya last year that was nice, maybe a little better than the one from Teavivre. I'd say YC is a pretty good vendor and it might be worth a try if you like TPHK. I'm restraining myself from buying their sun-dried Anji Bai Cha black tea.

[debunix]

once just for kicks I infused some TPHK in this mini teapot

5698364912_aa40d51e42_o.jpeg (213.53 KiB) Viewed 5201 times

I poured in the hot water and as the leaves softened, I pushed them down until they were completely submerged. It worked, I was fun and delicious but obviously not the most practical thing for making this tea every day. It's definitely not very difficult To work with this stuff in smaller or shallow brewing vessels, you just have to push it in gently as it wets… or break the leaves.

[Masterjeff]

For the last of my 2023 sencha I am enjoying the predecessor to many of the oddities of Japanese tea that I so often enjoy, Shizu Inzatsu 131 sencha ffom Tenryu in Shizuoka. It is a sencha that is very unique with a strong floral aroma. I've had its two children from its crossing with Yabukita, Fuji-kaori (which makes a better kamairicha than sencha imo) and Sofu and while both may be better, this teas unique characteristics shine through stronger, with the caveat of having the negative aspects of such teas in full force. For such reasons I found that reduction clay worked best as it rounded out any harshness while preserving the positive aspects I enjoy. In my mumyoi it was too harsh, though I'll play around with parameters to see if I can make it work since I think if tuned right it can provide some interesting results.
I will be sure to try the nearai this year as well.

[GaoShan]

… or break the leaves.

LOL, that made me wince! I'm not sure I could do that, but I have a sample of TPHK on the way and I might try steeping it in a shallow cup.

[Masterjeff]

Fuji-kaori (which makes a better kamairicha than sencha imo)

Delicious Fuji-kaori kamairicha from Fujieda. Wonderful tea combining all the unique characteristics of Fuji-kaori as a cultivar with the roasted nutty profile of kamairicha, and without the bitterness I found in the sencha of the same cultivar. It also fulfills my craving for Chinese greens for the time being (I already have too many greens coming this year to order any more ).

[GaoShan]

Today I tried a sample of Cha Wang Tai Ping Hou Kui from Teavivre. They recommended using 10 to 15 pieces in 250 ml of water, and to avoid bitterness, I conservatively steeped 11 pieces at 185F starting at 4 minutes. I needn't have worried, as the taste was very subtle and bitterness was nonexistent. The first steeps had lots of sweetness, orchid florals, minerality, and some beany/vegetal notes. Later steeps were more vegetal and mineral, though the florals were still evident. I can't stress enough how subtle this tea is, perhaps a bit too subtle for my palate. I have about 7 grams of this tea left, so I'll be experimenting with more leaves to see if I can make the flavour of this tea more pronounced.

[Sunyata]

TPHK and Huangshan Maofeng are just not my type of green tea... I've heard that one needs to try them immediately if not they lose their sweetness very quickly. Then again, my experience with green tea is very limited.

My favorite is of course Bi Luo Chun. Thick, round, fruity and savory... The best green tea for a puerh drinker like me. Longjing is overrated

[GaoShan]

TPHK and Huangshan Maofeng are just not my type of green tea... I've heard that one needs to try them immediately if not they lose their sweetness very quickly. Then again, my experience with green tea is very limited.

My favorite is of course Bi Luo Chun. Thick, round, fruity and savory... The best green tea for a puerh drinker like me. Longjing is overrated

Last week, I did a comparison of four longjing teas from three vendors and I have to agree that the quality difference was minimal. They all tasted roasty, nutty, and sweet, with subtle variations in the vegetal and floral notes present. My comparison of Bi Luo Chun revealed much more pronounced differences. This leads me to believe that either high-quality longjings are much the same, or my palate for Bi Luo Chun is better than that for Longjing—or perhaps, that I waited too long to try these teas and some of the freshness has gone.

[Sunyata]

TPHK and Huangshan Maofeng are just not my type of green tea... I've heard that one needs to try them immediately if not they lose their sweetness very quickly. Then again, my experience with green tea is very limited.

My favorite is of course Bi Luo Chun. Thick, round, fruity and savory... The best green tea for a puerh drinker like me. Longjing is overrated

Last week, I did a comparison of four longjing teas from three vendors and I have to agree that the quality difference was minimal. They all tasted roasty, nutty, and sweet, with subtle variations in the vegetal and floral notes present. My comparison of Bi Luo Chun revealed much more pronounced differences. This leads me to believe that either high-quality longjings are much the same, or my palate for Bi Luo Chun is better than that for Longjing—or perhaps, that I waited too long to try these teas and some of the freshness has gone.

Again, I think the best longjing I had wasn't the typical cultivar 43 but one of the "original" slower growing seed-grown cultivar that is harvested later, so pre-qingming longjing isn't necessarily better. It didn't taste nutty or roasted but deep in sweetness (yes, for a green tea which often isn't deep) which made me think that all good tea, regardless of type/style, or at least tea that is from older tree material, should have this sort of "emptiness" at the front palette, like skipping a beat.

As for comparisons, from all the occasions where I had any longjing and bi luo chun tasted in same session, my preference was for the latter. good longjing often seems flat compared to the fruity sweetness of a good bi luo chun... something about it grown nearby fruit gardens? anyway, I can imagine a good TPHK or HSMF being somewhat like a good longjing - almost like drinking purified water (if that is what one is chasing after, then might as well just drink good danzhu puerh ), but lacking the sweetness and thickness of BLC.

[GaoShan]

Last week, I did a comparison of four longjing teas from three vendors and I have to agree that the quality difference was minimal. They all tasted roasty, nutty, and sweet, with subtle variations in the vegetal and floral notes present. My comparison of Bi Luo Chun revealed much more pronounced differences. This leads me to believe that either high-quality longjings are much the same, or my palate for Bi Luo Chun is better than that for Longjing—or perhaps, that I waited too long to try these teas and some of the freshness has gone.

Again, I think the best longjing I had wasn't the typical cultivar 43 but one of the "original" slower growing seed-grown cultivar that is harvested later, so pre-qingming longjing isn't necessarily better. It didn't taste nutty or roasted but deep in sweetness (yes, for a green tea which often isn't deep) which made me think that all good tea, regardless of type/style, or at least tea that is from older tree material, should have this sort of "emptiness" at the front palette, like skipping a beat.

As for comparisons, from all the occasions where I had any longjing and bi luo chun tasted in same session, my preference was for the latter. good longjing often seems flat compared to the fruity sweetness of a good bi luo chun... something about it grown nearby fruit gardens? anyway, I can imagine a good TPHK or HSMF being somewhat like a good longjing - almost like drinking purified water (if that is what one is chasing after, then might as well just drink good danzhu puerh ), but lacking the sweetness and thickness of BLC.

Some of the longjing I tasted was from the 43 cultivar, but some of it was from the heirloom Quntizhong variety (see Seven Cups Shifeng Longjing). I wouldn't compare it to drinking water. In fact, for my comparison, I steeped 2.4 g in 120 ml of water, and my impression was of roasted coffee with some vegetal elements. I'm slowly going through these longjing using more sensible parameters to see which ones respond to a lower leaf-to-water ratio. I'd say the longjing made with the land race cultivar gives me more floral results, though not so noticeably as to make me want to spend the money to buy it again.

If given the chance to compare these Mingqian teas again, I'd stick with the BLC and buy one or two Longjing I like. I don't find the longjing different enough to spend the money to compare them, which may indicate a lack of discernment on my part.

[Smiler7]

Warm greetings.
Just started with green tea today.
Clipper pure organic green tea.
You have to start somewhere!

[Léon]

Just started with green tea today.
Clipper pure organic green tea.

If it's teabags you made a false start.

Unless you cut them open.