To call myself ‘uneducated’ on green teas would be an understatement. A few months ago, reading the reviews on many of the higher quality green teas here on good old Steepster was somewhat confusing. Most of my green tea experience was the green tea Sobe that my sister always bought, or the occasional Jasmine Green that you get from Chinese restaurants.
With that, a lot of my ‘thinking’ on green tea still runs familiar tracks, and tries to discern the differences. In my head, I often say “this tastes a lot like x, but the differences are a, b, and c”. Sometimes I say that out loud. If I’m lucky, Missy is within earshot and I look less like an idiot babbling at himself.
Take this Dragon Well, for example. This tastes a lot like the Tai Ping Hou Kui from Teavivre that I drank a few days ago, except it’s a little less flavorful. It has the same sweet tones to it, but it’s significantly less sweet. It has a very roasted vegetable flavor to it… but it’s a little less buttery, toasted vegetables, and a little more steamy, swampy vegetables.
All in all, it’s pretty tasty for a green tea. However, I can’t see ever going for this while that Tai Ping was still available.
Has anyone else had both a Dragon Well and the Tai Ping Hou Kui? Are they remarkably similar, just of varied degrees of excellence?
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I’ve had a few Dragon Well teas which have a nutty quality. I;ve also had two different TPHK’s and I don’t remember any nuttiness. What I do remember is stemed vegetable butteriness, that to me is world’s apart.
Yeah, no real nuttiness on this one.
The best Dragonwell I’ve ever had has actually been Teavana’s. It’s nutty and smooth and buttery and sweet, and the second steep is definitely my favorite – very clean and buttery with just a hint of the nuttiness behind it.
I’ve had lots of different kinds of Dragon Well teas and I’ve had two different Tai Ping Hou Kui teas, and just off the top of my head I don’t personally find that much in common between them, but I feel I’d have to do a side-by-side comparison to be certain. I like both types of green teas, and I think what ScottTeaMan posted above sounds like a good way to describe the differences (although I’m still not certain exactly what ‘buttery’ tastes like in a tea).
Michelle: “The best Dragonwell I’ve ever had has actually been Teavana’s.” Wow. I’ll have to try their version sometime.
I’ve had a few Dragon Well teas which have a nutty quality. I;ve also had two different TPHK’s and I don’t remember any nuttiness. What I do remember is stemed vegetable butteriness, that to me is world’s apart.
Yeah, no real nuttiness on this one.
The best Dragonwell I’ve ever had has actually been Teavana’s. It’s nutty and smooth and buttery and sweet, and the second steep is definitely my favorite – very clean and buttery with just a hint of the nuttiness behind it.
I’ve had lots of different kinds of Dragon Well teas and I’ve had two different Tai Ping Hou Kui teas, and just off the top of my head I don’t personally find that much in common between them, but I feel I’d have to do a side-by-side comparison to be certain. I like both types of green teas, and I think what ScottTeaMan posted above sounds like a good way to describe the differences (although I’m still not certain exactly what ‘buttery’ tastes like in a tea).
Michelle: “The best Dragonwell I’ve ever had has actually been Teavana’s.” Wow. I’ll have to try their version sometime.