This tea comes from Huángshān (黃山,"Yellow Mountain") in Ānhuī province. It is made from the Shì Dà Zhǒng (柿大種,"Persimmon Big Type") tea plant which is the local cultivar of tea in the Hòukēng village region. This unique cultivar of tea has unusually large leaves. Although it is from the Xiǎo Yè Zhǒng (小葉種,"Small Leaf Tea") branch of the tea family tree, its leaves are long enough to be visually mistaken for a Dà Yè Zhǒng (大葉種, "Big Leaf Tea") tea such as Sheng Pu'er. It is traditionally made into a famous green tea called Tàipíng Hóukuí, (平猴魁, "Great Peace Monkey Chief") but this year our producer He Xiaoling has made red and white versions of this tea. Since they are harvested from later in the spring, after the green tea harvest has ended, they are much less expensive than Tàipíng Hóukuí, but still have much of the same unique character. This one in particular is harvested from wild plants.
A fluffy, large-leaf tea has been described as being floral punch, rock candy, mineral, bready, white flowers, and sugar cookie. It has a heady, strong Qi and notes of cantaloupe rind on the exhale.
1 Review
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White Monkey Chief
The leaves on these don't appear as massive as the original style for Tai Ping Hou Kui. Some were broken up, while a good amount of white buds were mixed in with the leaves. An herbaceous sherbert sweetness wafts from the dried leaves. Upon the first wash, this herbaceous quality is emphasized. Wild White Monkey Chief is sweet. A strong pastry backbone supports a indistinct fruity taste. You get that distinctive sugar-cookie taste on the huigan. The pastry taste tends to dissipate on subsequent steepings, leaving you with more of that herb mixed with fruit sweetness. Easily the best white tea I've ever had, and probably one of my favorite teas to have in general. This would be a great tea to introduce to people who don't really have a taste for what they believe tea is.