It is time for the 2022 August Old Ways Tea Club! Finally, we have the much anticipated fresh Taiping Houkui. In addition, Jin Qian and Bai Rui Xiang White Winter Daphne
2022 Taiping Houkui from the 2022 August Old Ways Tea Club
Right away, I dived into the fresh green tea. I always love Taiping Houkui as the leaves are fun, especially the high quality ones as they are massive.
The leaves smell like toasted white bread and fresh grass. As much as I use a glass teapot or a thermos, I went with a nice glass and stacked the leaves like I’m serving breadsticks.
I used 3 grams of leaf in around 300ml of water, lazy style steeped at 90c.
2022 Taiping Houkui sips in gentle and soft, like blades of creamy grass, and water crackers, with soothing sweetness. Each sip develops a light artichoke, then spinach with butter and the texture is melted butter. Some sips are fresh spinach in butter.
With a refill of water, Taiping Houkui stays light, with vegetable notes, and butter that is refreshing and sweet. It does get a bit astringent in the end, drying the sides of the cheeks.
Overall, 2022 Taiping Houkui is less savory than last year’s tea, more light and sweet. Either way, it is very easy to drink for a new tea drinker, and yet pleasing flavor and texture, even for those like me who don’t like green tea.
2021 Jin Qian from the 2022 August Old Ways Tea Club
The leaves smell like toast raisin bread.
For the next teas, I did gongfu style that is heavy on leaf, around 1ml of leaf per 12ml of vessel size, steeped in boiling water. After a rinse, 2021 Jin Qian smells like creamy fruity bread pudding.
First, Second, and Third Infusion: The rinse was soft and raisin bread, but the first steep is strong, bitter concentrated raisins and fresh grape stems. As it steeped, it grows in a roasted wood flavor and hazelnuts. The aftertaste is red grapes.
Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Infusion: The tea is developing a plummy taste to go with the raisins and wood. Jin Qian is still strong, with a thick texture that coats the tongue in a protective sheath. The final infusions loses strength quickly, adding a wet stone mineral and charred caramel flavor as it slips.
2021 Jin Qian is a solid, fruity oolong with creamy pudding vibes, but mostly fruit and easy to drink. The later infusions were my favorite, but the whole session was quite good.
2021 Bai Rui Xiang White Winter Daphne
The leaves smell of roast and sweet red candies.
Interestingly, White Winter Daphne emits flavor fast – the rinse was strong! That said, I didn’t bother dumping the rinse.
First, Second, and Third Infusion: White Winter Daphne starts off robustly roasted mixed nuts to malt and wood bark. The aroma is heavy red candy fruits to a soapy floral. As I wait for the next infusion, the aftertaste is bruised nectarines with lots of skin. The texture is smooth and silky.
Fourth and Fifth Infusion: White Winter Daphne is trying to soften, first sipping in as a buttery drift wood, but then I was wrong and the flavor sharpens to strong dark nuts at the end of the sip. The aftertaste is dark chocolate and more bruised stone fruits.
Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Infusion: Bai Rui Xiang White Winter Daphne is biting back here, switching to a tangy fruity nectarine with a bitter dark wood. This tea finally has astringency, tickling the throat with dryness. But by the seventh steeping, it relaxes to soft toasty, some wet stone notes, and sweet honey fruit with a sweet fruity aftertaste, though astringent.
2021 Bai Rui Xiang White Winter Daphne is a mighty tea that resteeps well with a great aroma. I love how dark this tea is, perfect for the cooling weather, but with notes of nods for the late summer fruits.
