Taiping Houkui
An Anhui green tea of extraordinary appearance: flat, pressed leaves several centimetres long, often bearing the imprint of the mesh used to flatten them. The size is not a gimmick — the leaf is a large-leafed local cultivar, and it brews far gentler than its appearance suggests.
Character
Mild and orchid-scented, with a striking cooling quality in the finish and almost no astringency despite the large leaf.
- Flavour
- Floral, Vegetal, Sweet
- Aroma
- Orchid, Fresh
- Mouthfeel
- Light, Silky
- Complexity
- Layered
- Notes
- orchid, fresh melon, green bamboo
- Aftertaste
- Long, floral and cooling.
Delicate intensity: light in the mouth with little grip. forgiving of a long steep.
Provenance and production
- Origin
- China
- Oxidation
- Unoxidised
- Harvest
- First flush
- Processing
- Withering → Kill-green (fixation) → Drying
History
Developed in the early twentieth century in Taiping county and awarded a prize at the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition, which established its reputation. The enormous pressed leaves are a deliberate presentation choice from that period rather than an ancient technique.
Brewing
Western brewing (teapot or mug)
1–2 g/100 ml · 80–90 °C · 1 authored infusion
Grandpa style
0.5–1 g/100 ml · 75–85 °C · 1 authored infusion
Gongfu brewing (gaiwan)
3–4 g/100 ml · 75–85 °C · 4 authored infusions
No caffeine estimate is authored for this tea. TeaHQ does not infer one from its category, because category predicts caffeine poorly — matcha and gyokuro carry more than many black teas.
Common mistakes
- Cramming the long leaves into a small basket, which under-extracts badly
If you like this
Grouped by why they were suggested, strongest reason first. Nothing here is a blended score — a suggestion appears under the best reason that exists for it, and never under a weaker one as well.
Editorially linked
Someone wrote down why these two belong together. The note below is theirs.
- Hou Kui supreme
Standard and top grades of the same tea. The supreme grade’s leaves are long enough that a normal gaiwan will not hold them properly.
Similar sensory profile
Shares controlled flavour, aroma and mouthfeel descriptors. A looser match — two teas can share descriptors and still taste nothing alike.
- Bai Ji Guan
Shares 6 descriptors with Taiping Houkui: sweet, floral, light, silky, fresh and orchid.
- Baozhong
Shares 6 descriptors with Taiping Houkui: floral, vegetal, light, silky, orchid and fresh.
- Huang Jin Gui
Shares 6 descriptors with Taiping Houkui: floral, sweet, vegetal, light, orchid and fresh.
- Meng Ding Gan Lu
Shares 6 descriptors with Taiping Houkui: sweet, floral, light, silky, orchid and fresh.
- Shan Lin Xi
Shares 6 descriptors with Taiping Houkui: floral, vegetal, sweet, silky, orchid and fresh.
- Wenshan Baozhong
Shares 6 descriptors with Taiping Houkui: floral, sweet, light, silky, orchid and fresh.
- Wenzhou Huang Tang
Shares 6 descriptors with Taiping Houkui: sweet, floral, light, silky, fresh and orchid.