2026 Tai Ping Lan Hua Jian

Tai Ping Lan Hua Jian — Huangshan Shida ye cultivate. 5g. 100 ml gaiwan. 85–90°C water.  

The dry leaves are fine, downy, small and tender, with a soft sweetness held close. A light almond note sits low, with a faint milky edge. Underneath, a green-wood note, fresh, like split stems and young bamboo.

Warmed in the gaiwan, the leaf releases a quiet almond note, clean, not rising. The liquor comes out clear, bright. The first scent is soft, slightly savory, close to a light broth, with a cool edge. A green tone runs through it, closer to wild herb than leaf, fresh, but not sharp.

In the mouth, it is light, but with structure, moving evenly across the tongue without weight. The sweetness is clean and steady from the start, with no bitterness and no astringency. A soft green freshness, close to young pea shoots, moves through the liquor. A faint salinity holds the line, keeping the sweetness clear as it returns, the finish already tending toward clear-cool.

The orchid note does not show at once. It sits deeper in the liquor, appearing between sips, not fixed, not held, moving in and out. Around it, a slight flinty edge comes through, clean, giving the tea a quiet firmness without turning hard. As it goes on, everything settles into place. Green-wood stays underneath, wild-herb moves through, the orchid note remains intermittent, the flinty edge keeps the structure, and the finish holds clear-cool.