Three things to know about Tai Ping Hou Kui

Our team has ecstatic at the discovery of Tai Ping Hou Kui tea, not only because it is an exceptional tea of great delicacy and complexity, but also due to the heavenly location of its garden. If that weren't enough having know the producer, Mr. Ye, for many years, we know we have a friendly and authentic partner and that's why this tea has been one of our favourites since 2007. Here are three things to know about this tea.

No roads lead to its garden

Located in the beautiful province of Anhui, you'd have to travel on country roads before arriving to the edge of a river. You then need to take a boat to get to the garden. The tea is made near the river in the Sanhe region. On the other bank, hidden further back in the rugged mountain terrain is where you'll find Hou Keng, which is the village in which the original terroir of this tea originates from. It's been roughly 4 years since Hou Keng is connected to the road. That's how we can visit Mr. Zhang who produces Taiping Hou Kui Hou Keng, a more expensive, but exquisite tea. The steep and very rocky soil gives the tea a very complex mineral and floral taste.

Pure craft: a special tea transformation

Mr. Ye, our producer in Taiping Hou Kui, uses an astonishing artisanal processing method to obtain flattened leaves, each on average six centimeters in length. In 2018, he was awarded the certificate of excellence from our team.

A rare tea

To start off, we only select the terminal bud and its following two leaves. After the harvest, the leaves are then sorted and sent off to get manually desiccated. The leaves are then individually placed on a wire mesh in a way that no leaves touch each other, at which point, a second wire is placed over them. We then apply a cotton cloth on the frame, then, with a quick gesture, we pass a roller over them. We let the leaves dry, gradually and for about an hour, inside the frame over a wood fire. Impressive!