Bai Mao Hou白毛猴

Bai Mao Hou is a green tea from Taimu Mountains, Fujian, China. Brew it at 78°C with 3g of leaf per 100ml of water; expect up to 5 short infusions in a small gaiwan or teapot. No rinse needed.

Tasting notes

Bai Mao Hou is a strange tea to place. The leaves look like a scruffy white — downy, curled, slightly gray — and the first sip behaves like one too: soft, honeyed, more perfumed than vegetal. Then the second steep shifts, and something greener shows up underneath, nutty and a little woody. It's not a tea that surprises you with power. It surprises you by being gentler than you expected, then holding that gentleness without getting boring. Brew it like you'd brew a silver needle, not like a Long Jing — 78°C, no hotter, and give the first steep thirty seconds to wake up. Push heat and you lose the floral top entirely; what's left is a flat, dusty grass. Porcelain or glass, never clay. And don't expect more than four or five infusions — by the fifth it's mostly water with a memory of honey, and that's the right time to stop.

Flavor profile

A distinctive Fujian green tea made from a cultivar normally reserved for white teas, giving it a unique bridge character. The first infusion is floral-sweet, the second develops nutty depth, and the third lightens into a refreshing finish. The dried leaves resemble a monkey's paw — hence the name. Lighter and softer-bodied than most Chinese greens, with a sweetness and soft texture reminiscent of white tea.

Terroir

Subtropical Fujian highlands, humid, rich biodiversity

Cultivar: Local Fujian cultivar typically used for white tea production

Brewing

1. Steep 1: 30 seconds
2. Steep 2: 30 seconds
3. Steep 3: 40 seconds
4. Steep 4: 50 seconds
5. Steep 5: 60 seconds

Treat gently like a white tea — lower temperature preserves the honey-sweet floral character. Glass or porcelain only.

Aroma & taste

Processing

• pan-fired
• hand-rolled

Sources

• https://www.curioustea.com/tea/green-tea/bai-mao-hou-white-monkey/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baimao_Hou
• https://greentea.st/profile/white-monkey-tea/
• https://teasoul.store/en/approfondimenti-te-verde-bai-mao-hou/