Taiping Hou Kui has large leaves with pointed ends, the largest sized leaf among all green teas. The local varietal is called Shi Da Ye (柿大叶), since the large leaves look like persimmon leaves. Unlike other green teas whose harvesting begins in March, the picking window for Hou Kui is usually before the Guyu festival in mid-April, continuing through mid-May. The traditional hand-making of making this tea is very intricate and labor intensive. Also unlike other green tea that is pan fired in a wok, Hou Kui is baked for two to three times at low temperature. High quality Hou Kui should have an imprint of the hand-pressed mesh that is used to flatten the leaves during processing. However, most Hou Kui on the market is machine-made with sheer or very green leaves that are of inferior quality from outside of the Huang Shan district. 

This tea comes from the famous Hou Gang (猴岗) village of Xing Ming, Huang Shan district, the core producing area of authentic Tai Pin Hou Kui green tea. It is exceptionally well-made, has long, flat leaves. The leaves normally has 5-7cm long, and some are even longer than your index finger. Hand-picked, and hand-made using a traditional process, It yields a truly aromatic high quality green tea, reflecting its renowned characters - a strong aromatic orchid fragrance, and vegetal freshness, with very smooth and sweet aftertaste. 

The dry leaves are neatly arranged in the package to ensure that the beautiful long flat leaves remain intact. We recommend using a tall glass to brew this tea for its astonishing look and fully opened leaves. And unlike other green teas, it can sustain up to 5 steepings. It is also very forgiving, easy to brew without any bitterness. 

Additional Info

Origin:                         Core producing area Hou Gan village (猴岗), Xing Ming, Taiping district, Yellow Mountain, Anhui province, China

Varietal:                       Local Shi Da Ye varietal (柿大叶）

Picking standard:        One mature bud, two mature leaves

Harvest Time:              Mid-April, 2023
Caffeine level:             Medium
Packaging:                  This tea is arranged neatly to prevent any of the long beautiful tea leaves from being broken. 

Tasting Profile

This tea provides high aromatic orchid fragrance, smooth, clean, and creamy with a sweet aftertaste. Recommend to smell the orchid fragrance of the dry leaves before brewing.  

Steeping Guide

190^oF, 3-4g for 6oz of spring/filtered water, adjust to taste, first steep 2 minute, subsequent steep 1 min, up to 5 steepings. We advise against the use of tap water as well as purified water. This tea is large and bulky so it is somewhat difficult to measure by tablespoon. You can weigh on a gram scale for the desired tea to leaf ratio.  

We also recommend to brew the tea in a tall glass in order to observe the amazing leaves opening, creating an astonishing view.  At first steeping, be sure to enjoy the signature aromatic orchid fragrance. At second brewing, enjoy the full bodied mellow fresh taste.  For consequent steepings, the delicate fragrance still remains as does an enjoyable taste.