China Tea ep. 17 – Taiping Hou Kui, Xinyang Mao Jian – Sunday Tea Book – Sip-a-long – Guizhou Steamed Green Tea

Taiping Hou Kui

Taiping Hou Kui’s characteristic shape is “pointy at both ends, and flat, holding its shape, without curling or bending”. There are three types of Hou Kui, Hou Kui, Kui Jian, and Jian Cha, among which Hou Kui is best. The leaves of Hou Kui are evenly deep green with red tinged veins, known as hong si xian (red silk thread). The taste is best described by the saying, “first infusion high in aroma, second infusion rich in taste, third and fourth infusions still have lingering fragrance”.

Shape: flat with silver fuzz

Color: deep green

Liquor: light green

Taste: light, elegant

Brewed Leaves: juicy and soft.

Xinyang Mao Jian

Xinyang Mao Jian is plucked in the spring, summer, and autumn. Spring tea is green with an immediate bitterness that ends with sweetness. The best ones are plucked before Guyu. The summer tea is astringent. The leaf color has hints of black. The tea plucked after Bailu is autumn tea. Because autumn tea is unique in taste and low in yield, it is very rare. The spring and autumn tea are of top quality. There’s a saying, “give spring tea to friends as a gift, give autumn tea to parents for gratitude”. This saying also shows the culture of the local people.

Shape: strange and slim with fuzz

Color: bright green

Liquor: yellow and bright

Taste: bright and lingering

Brewed Leaves: uniform

Lushan Yun Wu

Lushan Yun Wu comes from Lushan in Jiangxi Province. Most tea gardens in the Lushan Mountains are above 1000 meters and consistently nourished by the mists and clouds around them. Therefore, this tea has high mountain tea yun (韵). Legend has it, Hui Yuan, a famous monk, served Tao Yuanming, the famous poet, this tea.

There are 6 unique features of Lushan Yun Wu: brisk and sturdy in shape, bright green with fuzz, bright liquor, full and even leaves, long-lasting aroma, rich and sweet in taste.

Shape: tight and full

Color: tender green

Liquor: green and clear

Taste: long-lasting and high with chestnut aroma

Brewed Leaves: open and soft.

Wuyuan Ming Mei

Wuyuan Ming Mei is a great green tea. It has strict requirements for fresh leaves. The plucking standard is one bud with one just opened leaf. The leaves are sturdy and strong with fuzz and uniform in shape and tenderness, with no damage from pests and no purple leaves. The tea is plucked on a sunny day after the fog and mist have dispersed so that there’s no dew on the leaves and without using the finger nails to avoid hurting the stem.

Shape: tight with fuzz

Color: bright green

Liquor: yellowish green, clear

Taste: rich and refreshing, long lasting

Brewed Leaves: soft.