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Although Hou Kui Tea is the youngest of the Top 10 Teas, he was the first to win international acclaim. It joined the celebrity circus in 1915 when it won the gold medal in Panama Pacific Exposition and became the first tea to win an international award in modern China.
Today, the best Taiping Hou Kui tea comes from the Xinming Township in the Huangshan Mountain area. The village has 3 main production areas: Houkeng, Hougang and Yanjiacun. It is renowned for its "two knives and one pole": two straight leaves clasping the enormous bud with white hairs. The oven-made leaves are deep green in color with red veins underneath.
The tea shoots can be as long as 15 centimeters. They are plucked from the Shi Da Ye, a large leaf cultivar found only in Anhui Province. The tea has an orchid fragrance. The first infusion is aromatic, second full bodied, 3rd and 4th pleasantly scented. It is famous for the Monkey Rhyme (Hou Yun), a sweet aftertaste that can be found only in the best of Taiping Hou Kui tea.
