Review: Bai Mao Hou

Review: Bai Mao Hou

TouThe is really a fabulous little shop, dedicated entirely to tea and tea accessories. The staff are very friendly and will be sure to point you in the right direction, whether its for a gift or you are a die hard tea addict. There's a little cafe area out the back of the store where you can buy a cup of any tea they have in store.

Bai Mao Hou, Spring Harvest Tea [China, grassy] *** $$   by Palais Des Thes, from TouThe, Lausanne,  CN

Other names: 白毛猴,White Haired Monkey

Is this tea really called white haired monkey? I'm not sure, probably the french have some special name for it. This early harvest tea from Fuijan could be mistaken for a white tea, especially looking at its leaves. I didnt go wild about the smell of this one but in the cup it was pleasant with some sweet end notes.

Similar Teas: Chinese grassy teas, white teas

Review: Huo Shan Yellow Bud

Langass Tee is a fantastic tea seller and tea shop, certainly well worth a detour if you happen to be passing by the Swiss capital sometime. That's Bern, not Zurich. Nor Geneva.

I spent some time in Bern last year and had been looking to try a yellow tea....mostly because I didn't know what the term yellow tea means nor how it differs from green tea. It would appear Yellow Tea is all about post production processing, something to do with using a humid cloth which I don't quite understand. I also read that yellow teas were the preserve of Emperors in days gone by.

I wasn't sure about buying a 75g of a tea I had not tried but the shop assistant told me it would drink faster than I expected and she wasn't wrong!

Huo Shan Yellow Bud [china, yellow, grassy] ***** $$$   by Langass Tee, Bern, CH

Other names: 霍山黄芽,Huo Shan Huang Ya, 

First off, the smell this tea is amazing: fresh, buttery, slightly nutty. I could smell it all day long. For me the nutty notes become stronger when the leaves are wet and reminds me of Silver Needle white teas, with a long note of some astringency. In the cup, it turns to a rather sweet nutty very pleasant smell.

The leaves look somewhat like Long Jing leaves but these two teas are quite different. 

I'm someone who likes to steep my teas for quite a short time, most green teas are steeped too long for my taste even in speciality shops to extent when all I can taste is the bitterness. By contrast, this yellow tea needs a good 1m30 to 3min infusion or you risk missing its extremely subtle flavours. 

I find its taste very pleasant but rather difficult to explain, you can certainly taste the tannins but beyond that there's not too much to say apart from a slight bitter notes. Very easy to drink, very easy to like and one of those teas that is very comforting in the feeling it brings after drinking.

Recommended as a gift tea or for anyone who is starting out on the exploration beyond green tea bags. 

Similar Teas: The des Acores, Silver Needle

A sweet comforting little brew

We've done some shopping!

My very photogenic housemate Eliane went to Bern this week and came back with some goodies. She's moroccan so she knows a thing or two about tea. Apart from the classical mint tea from Morocco, she also enjoys korean teas and Genmaicha from Japan.

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