Tai Ping Hou Kui (太平猴魁, Tài Píng Hóu Kuí) is a kind of Chinese green tea and is native to the Tai Ping County of Huangshan City, Anhui Province. Hou means “monkey” and Kui means “first” or “best”.
Tai Ping Hou Kui is a national geographical indication product of China. It is a specialty of Anhui Province.
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History of Tai Ping Hou Kui
In 1859, a tea farmer in Tai Ping County cultivated a tea garden. He used the tea trees he planted to make a new tea that was flat and straight and smelled like orchids. The tea farmer named it “Tai Ping Jian Cha”, which is the predecessor of Tai Ping Hou Kui.
A few years later, in order to improve the quality of the tea, another tea farmer named Wang Kui Cheng began to try. He had rich experience in tea production.
When he picked the fresh tea leaves, he selected the fat, strong, and the same size buds and leaves. After many meticulous processes, he succeeded. The finished tea has a good appearance and high quality.
The tea has the best quality in the local area, the tea farmer’s name contains the character “Kui”, and he lived in a place called Hou Gang in Tai Ping County, so the tea was named Tai Ping Hou Kui.
In 1915, Tai Ping Hou Kui participated in the Panama World Expo held in San Francisco and won the first-class gold medal for its high quality. Since then, Tai Ping Hou Kui has gone abroad. Therefore, 1915 is generally considered as the founding time of Tai Ping Hou Kui.
In 1972, when President Nixon of the United States visited China, the Chinese government gave him a package of Tai Ping Hou Kui as a gift, which made Tai Ping Hou Kui more famous.
Combined with the above two factors, there is a saying that “Tai Ping Hou Kui 1915 National Gift Tea”. Therefore, many packages of Tai Ping Hou Kui will show “Tai Ping Hou Kui 1915” to commemorate its founding time.
In 2003, Tai Ping Hou Kui obtained the national product protection mark of geographical indication.
Characteristics of Tai Ping Hou Kui
Tai Ping Hou Kui has the reputation of “two tips, no scattering, no warping, and no curling”.
The shape of Tai Ping Hou Kui is flat, straight, and long; its two ends are pointed; the color of it is green and the leaf veins are red-brown commonly known as “red silk thread”.
After brewing, the buds and leaves unfold slowly, forming a flower, two leaves holding one bud. Tai Ping Hou Kui smells like orchid fragrance and the fragrance is long-lasting. It tastes fresh, mellow, and has a sweet aftertaste. Even if you put a lot of dry tea leaves, it won’t be bitter.
According to the quality of Tai Ping Hou Kui, it can be classified into five grades: top grade, super grade, first grade, second grade, and third grade. The higher the grade, the more beautiful the appearance, the stronger the fragrance, and the higher the quality.
Benefits of Tai Ping Hou Kui
Tai Ping Hou Kui tea is a traditional Chinese natural health drink. It contains more than 500 kinds of chemical components, including tea polyphenols, proteins, amino acids, sugars, vitamins, lipids, as well as 28 inorganic nutrients such as potassium, sodium, magnesium, copper, etc. These nutrients have many pharmacological effects.
Benefits of Tai Ping Hou Kui:
- Detox
- Refresh
- Skincare
- Diuretic
- Anti-aging
- Anti-cancer
- Weight loss
- Lower blood sugar
- Lower blood lipids
- Inhibit cardiovascular disease