TaiPing HouKui green tea has uniquely long, flat leaves that make an amazing sight when brewed in a clear glass – which we strongly recommend! The tea is made from one bud with two leaves that come from a large leaf variety of the tea plant found only in Anhui province. During processing the leaves are pressed flat in an oven, giving the tea its unique shape.
TeaVivre's TaiPing KouKui has a fresh, orchid like fragrance with a classic sweet green tea taste. When brewed it has a bright green color, that combine with the size of the leaves to make a tea that is great to admire in a tall clear glass. This tea is not bitter in the least, and retains its sweet taste even after many infusions.
Brief Health Info
Just like all green teas, our TaiPing HouKui has high levels of antioxidants that reputedly help reduce the incidence of cancer, promote good skin tone and help reduce the affects of aging. Also containing vitamin C, fluoride and calcium, TeaVivre's TaiPing HouKui also promotes healthy teeth and bones.
For more information on the health benefits of Green teas, take a look at our article on Tea Health benefit.
How to make Tai Ping Hou Kui
Like all Green Teas, TaiPing HouKui should only be brewed in clean, mineral free, water that is not quite at boiling, but instead is around 176ºF (80ºC) for about 1 to 2 minutes, and can be infused 3 or 4 times before slowly loosing its sweet flavour.
Because of the unique size and shape of this tea, it really should be brewed directly in a tall, clear glass to let you enjoy watching the tea slowly expand like a flower as it brews!
For more information on some of the skills and arts of brewing tea, check out our article on How To Make Tea.
Where is our Tai Ping Hou Kui green tea produced
Our TaiPing HouKui is chosen from plantation located in the village of HouKeng in the foothills of Huangshan Mountain in Anhui. The tea gardens in this area are around 350m high and produce a much variety of the tea bush, that has the very long buds and leaves characteristic of this tea. This area has a great climate and environment for growing this particular variety of tea, with mild temperatures and lots of cloud cover.
About Tea Farmer
This Tai Ping Hou Kui Tea is from Mr. Kong who have been engaged in tea field for more than ten years. He focus on providing high quality teas to tea lovers all over the world and always produces more and more natural, safe and healthy teas including the Green tea we choose : Liu’an Guapian, Huang Shan Mao Feng, Xin Yang Mao Jian and Dragon Well Green Tea (Long Jing).
Mr. Kong elaborated his feeling about the tea culture: Tea Culture is a general concept which is different for people in different area. Although it is complex but there’s one thing that can be sure, that is the same as manage the enterprise, tea culture also needs management along with its quick development in the modern world.
History
TaiPing HouKui green tea was first developed around 1900 by a farmer by the name of Wang Kuicheng in the village of Hougang in TaiPin county, Anhui province. Due to its quality and taste it was soon ranked as one of the best teas in the area and was given the name of TaiPing HouKui – naming it both after the farmer and the village where it originated.
Later in 1912 a tea merchant by the name of Liu Jingzhi from Taiping county purchased several of the unique tea bushes used to produce the tea and then sent them to the Nanjing Fair where they were put on display by the Ministry of Agriculture. At that fair the tea was given an award for best tea. A few years later, in 1915, the tea won gold medal for teas at the Panama World Expo, and since that time has always been regarded as one of the best and most unique Chinese teas.
Gaiwan 3oz
Tea: 3g
4 steeps: rinse, 40s,1m,1m20s,2m
80ºC/176ºF
Teapot 8oz
Rating :
I have tried one other taiping houkui in the past. I tried it several times with varying parameters. While I learned to appreciate the cup I never really reached a point of deeply liking it. When TeaVivre offered the latest round of samples I wanted this one included. I wanted to know if it was the tea I wasn’t crazy about or the particular version.
The scent is grassy and fresh in aroma. I used the whole sample and steeped for a little over a minute. The resulting liquor was green tinted. The wet leaf made me think ocean and vegetal.
This bordered on bitter and sour but never crossed the line. The taste, to my poorly trained palate, is somewhere between a cross of bamboo shoots and celery leaf. It becomes sweeter as you sip. The aftertaste is long and lingering in a good way.
I enjoyed this without additives sweetener added nothing and really was more of a distraction. You will rarely hear me say that.
I can say once again TeaVivre has impressed me. While this may never be a must have staple in my tea drawer, I did greatly enjoy it and would gladly accept a cup if offered.
This review was originally published on Steepster by K S on February 13, 2013. TeaVivre add this whole review here by getting permission from K S.
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I am very happy with this tea and it was my first order with Teavivre as well. The quality of the tea is amazing, the packing and care that went into my order was the best. One of the best examples of the artistry of tea from the Anhui region
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I got a free sample of this tea, (thank you Teavivre) and I'm so glad I did because I probably wouldn't have tried it or even heard of it otherwise. It tastes like a mix of my two favourites: Dragon Well (Chinese) and Gyokuro (Japanese). I am so happy to have discovered this tea, I will be placing an order for it shortly. The leaves are long and delicate. While steeping it has a light aroma of steamed spinach, but it is mild and refreshing.
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I brewed this tea two different ways: in a tall glass, and in a gaiwan.
I prefered the gaiwan method. The tall glass method got a bit bitter.
I like this tea. It's stronger than most chinese greens, which I like. The leaves are very long, paper thin, and extremely brittle, so handle with care.
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This is a very smooth, soft tea that is not bitter at all, even with longer steeping. We used maybe 175F for around 4-5 minutes.
The aroma is not strong --quite mild, in fact. Slightly vegetal. Flavor has some floral notes with slight taste of green bean.
Not strong flavored at all, but quite pleasant and silky.
Rating :
The leaves of this Tai Ping Hou Kui are HUGE. The leaves are striking, and are definitely a conversation starter when you brew this for company.
Then we brewed the tea. It smells a little vegetal, but the aroma isn’t strong or overwhelming. Just lightly like stewed vegetables.
There is a really noticeable sweetness to this green tea. It’s a very smooth, buttery, steamed vegetable flavor. It’s very pleasant, I’m not sure if it’s the sweetness or the complete lack of any bitter, seawater kind of flavor. It is a very, very good green tea.
I would recommend this to anyone, especially those folks that aren't sure whether green tea is "for them" or not.
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I found this TaiPing to be of high quality: rich and very smooth. It is an excellent tea with a meal or separately.
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Dry Leaf: Has a light vegetal smell with a nice sweet smell that almost comes to the front of the tea.
Wet Leaf: Had a vegetal smell think green bean with a almost slight toasted or warm smell that had a touch of sweetness in the back somewhere.
Liquor: Was a pale yellow with a nice brightness and good clarity.
Taste: Had a light but fresh vegetal flavor.And as the broth cools there was a faint floral note in the distanced background with a lingering sweetness.