About Premium Monkey Village Monkey Tea (Taiping Houkui) 2024

Taiping Houkui was one of the teas given as a present to Russian President Vladimir Putin by Chinese President Hu Jintao in 2007. It is also a first-class green tea, made of a bud with two leaves standard. The leaves are long, fleshy, robust, flat and straight.
This premium grade Taiping Houkui tea belongs to traditional group species, its cultivar is Shi Da Cha. It comes from Monkey Village (Hou-pit), Huangshan Area, Anhui province. It is made in a traditional way: each leaf is hand-selected and adjusted. The tea is produced without the use of any chemical protection products for plants.

Appearance & Taste

Premium Monkey Village Monkey Tea (Taiping Houkui)

The leaves are long, fleshy and robust, flat and straight. They are pale green in colour and the main vein of each leaf is faintly reddish. They are covered with tiny, fuzzy white hairs, but these are not always obvious.

The taste of Taiping Houkui is wonderfully complex. It is sweet with the scent of flowers, fresh and mellow. It has a very long-lasting, sweet aftertaste. The tea is very clean and bright green with a fresh aroma.

Taste: Floral, Fresh, Grassy, Sweet

Brewing Guide

Tea Cup

3 teaspoon(s)

80–85°C (125ml)

1-2 mins

Enjoy!

Glass

6 tsp

80–85°C (250ml)

1-2 mins

Enjoy!

Teapot

12 tsp

80–85°C (500ml)

1-2 mins

Enjoy!

Kongfu Style

Recommend using Bottom-Drop (what’s this?) method for brewing the tea.

Warm the teaware with hot water. Discard the water afterward
Add 3g for teacup (125ML), 6g for glass (250ML) and 12g for teapot (500ML)
Pour hot water (80–85°C) into the teaware until it is one-third full
Tilt the teaware, slowly rotating it two times (this is to ensure a better infusion)
Fill the teaware with hot water (80–85°C)
Infuse tea for around 1-2 minutes, if using gaiwan gongfu, the first brew can be around 60s, the second time is around 2mins, then gradually increase steeping time for subsequent brewing
Drink until 1/3 of the tea is left before refilling
Can be brewed a total of four times
Gradually increase steeping time for subsequent brews.

In the first brew, you will enjoy the fragrance of orchids; the second round releases a mellower taste; the third and fourth brews produce a different, delicate fragrance.

Origin

The origin of this famous Chinese green tea is Tai Ping County, Anhui province. Because this unique cloudy area is characterised by low temperatures, very fertile soil and high humidity, the quality of green tea produced here is considered first-class.

The altitude of the tea trees is normally over 350 metres, with the soil containing rich black sand and a lot of organic substances. The annual sunshine percentage is around 50% and the annual precipitation is 1,200-1,400mm.

Origin: Anhui

Picking & Production

Ingredients: Taiping Houkui is made using a bud with two leaves. It requires fat and strong buds and leaves; the tips of the bud and the leaves should be aligned.

At first, one bud with 3-4 leaves is picked from the tea tree. The factory then reduces these to two leaves. This is to ensure the leaves keep their shape until ready for processing.

Picking: Taiping Houkui is only picked on sunny days, and the quality is well-controlled by avoiding:

Tea leaves have no bud
Bud and leaves are too small or too large
Bud and leaves are too thin
Bud and leaves are too curved
Bud and leaves are purple in colour
Bud is not straight
Bud and leaves are very pale
Bud and leaves have been damaged by disease.

7 reviews for Premium Monkey Village Monkey Tea (Taiping Houkui) 2024

Rated 5 out of 5
James B. – 15/08/2024
Brewed in gaiwan, top drop (As I did not want to break these beautiful, long leaves!) 2024 lot.
Easily my favourite tea of the six I purchased, the quality is obvious. Like all good hui cha there is a degree of minerality even in their green tea, and the soup is very balanced, without any bitterness, and the orchid aroma wafts over to you as it steeps.
The leaves are uniform and have no defect; ‘two knives, one pole’. The soup is rich and the three heatings have been done very well. The tea is so rich and sweet you can eat the dry leaves and the small bitterness wont bother you.
Usually from Anhui I will drink Huo Qing, but this may be a new favourite when I would like something more delicate.
Rated 5 out of 5
1181519568 – 09/07/2022
The tea has the sweet taste and the fragrance of orchid.
Rated 5 out of 5
Nicholas – 09/02/2021
This has become my new go-to green tea. Everything about it oozes freshness, from its rich green brew to its layers of taste.
Rated 4 out of 5
Charlotte B. – 11/01/2021
A delicious herbal tea!
Rated 5 out of 5
Jacob B. – 25/07/2020
We love the clear, bright soup this tea makes, and the floral scent and taste are perfect for any time of the day or night.
Rated 5 out of 5
Nathan B. – 15/07/2020
What a first-class tea! Floral and light, but with a great aftertaste. Never bitter and always fresh, right down to the last cup. Can’t recommend highly enough.
Rated 5 out of 5
Georgia C. – 05/01/2020
The tea steeps well and is really flavorful. The leaves are long, fleshy and strong and flat.The flavor of Monkey Tea is wonderful. Its nice with the heady scent of flowers, clean and mellow. It has a long-lasting, sweet aftertaste. Loved it.