On Mar 26, 9:43 pm, Hyllan > wrote:
> I recently decided to explore some of China's classical green teas and
> ordered Supreme Tai Ping Hou Kui and Liu An Gua Pian from Dragon Tea
> House. I did not get any brewing recommendations and my initial
> attempts to brew the teas in both a glass and a small porcelain pot
> yielded a rather bland tea in both cases. It was not weak, just not
> very distinct or special in any great way.
>
> Is there a trick to getting the most out of the uniqueness of each of
> these teas?

Shen's reply is about it (but higher temp water ~100c for the Liu
An)... I just wanted to add that TPHK has to be one of my least
favorite green teas. I have now tried it from three sources with quite
a variance in price and none of it has changed my mind. It is just an
off-putting tea for me. I have previously described the "roast-beef"
like flavor I get from it and other times a plastic taste. I have
tried (no lie) at least 50 times in almost as many different
preparations and it just doesn't do it, I will say that you need to
use a lot of leaf or else forget it. Liu An is admittedly not one of
my strong suits and I'm relatively inexperienced with it, but while it
isn't a personal favorite either I can appreciate it a bit more and
brewing is more forgiving as far as what I've seen. I treat it like a
green Puerh and a quick rinse as well as hotter water (90-100c).

In keeping with my own philosophy on tea (and life) many times the
most revered "classic" items aren't really the best. They may have had
a special reason or special context that made them so at one time but
often outside of that framework there is little actual substance. Just
as peasant dishes tend to be the most flavorful and enjoyable.

- Dominic