@hou-tea/mcp-server

MCP server for hou-tea.com — let your AI agent browse, recommend, and buy authentic Chinese tea with USDC via the x402 protocol.

Designed for Claude Desktop, Cursor, Cline, Continue, Zed, and any Model Context Protocol compatible AI agent.

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What it does

Exposes the hou-tea agent API as MCP tools so your AI assistant can shop on your behalf:

Tool	What it does
hou_tea_browse	List tea catalog with filters (category, price, season, difficulty)
hou_tea_recommend	Natural-language recommendations: "warming tea for cold winter nights"
hou_tea_explain	Deep dive on one product: brewing guide, story, health info
hou_tea_compare	Side-by-side comparison of 2–4 candidates
hou_tea_filter_by_health	Filter by conditions: pregnant, insomnia, caffeine sensitive
hou_tea_get_payment_requirements	Initiate x402 payment intent (returns recipient + amount)
hou_tea_check_order	Poll order status after payment
hou_tea_agent_card	Fetch full agent capability descriptor

Payment is handled by an x402-capable wallet MCP (e.g. @coinbase/payments-mcp) — this server only emits payment intents, it never holds keys or signs transactions.

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Install

Claude Desktop

Edit claude_desktop_config.json (Settings → Developer → Edit Config):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "hou-tea": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@hou-tea/mcp-server"]
    },
    "coinbase-payments": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@coinbase/payments-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "EVM_PRIVATE_KEY": "0x..."
      }
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop. You should see "hou-tea" listed under tools.

Cursor

Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json or <project>/.cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "hou-tea": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@hou-tea/mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

Cline / Continue / Zed

Same npx -y @hou-tea/mcp-server invocation in their MCP config.

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Try it

After install, ask your agent:

"Recommend a warming tea for winter nights, around $30."

The agent will call hou_tea_recommend, return real products with prices and brewing notes, then offer to buy.

"I'll take the first one."

The agent calls hou_tea_get_payment_requirements, gets back a 402 with the merchant's Base-chain USDC address and amount. If you've also installed @coinbase/payments-mcp with a funded wallet, it auto-signs and sends the USDC, then confirms the order.

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Configuration

All settings via environment variables (optional):

Env var	Default	Purpose
HOU_TEA_API_BASE	https://hou-tea.com	Override API host (e.g. for staging).
HOU_TEA_PAY_BASE	https://hou-tea.com/pay	Override x402 middleware host.
HOU_TEA_STORE_ID	fengshui	Default store_id.
HOU_TEA_AGENT_KEY	(none)	Optional X-Agent-Key for higher rate limits / private skills. Contact support@hou-tea.com.

Most users need none of these — the public catalog and x402 buy endpoint are open.

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Architecture

┌─────────────────┐         ┌────────────────────┐
│ Claude / Cursor │         │  hou-tea.com       │
│                 │  HTTPS  │  /api/agent/*      │
│ ┌─────────────┐ │ ──────► │  (catalog/         │
│ │ hou-tea MCP │ │ ◄────── │   recommend/etc.)  │
│ └─────────────┘ │         └────────────────────┘
│                 │
│ ┌─────────────┐ │  HTTPS  ┌────────────────────┐
│ │ payments MCP│ │ ──────► │ /pay/api/v1/buy    │
│ │ (Coinbase)  │ │ ◄ 402 ─ │ x402-middleware    │
│ └─────────────┘ │         │                    │
│       │         │  Base   │   verifies on-     │
│       └─────────┼──────►──┤   chain tx, marks  │
│   USDC transfer │  chain  │   order confirmed  │
└─────────────────┘         └────────────────────┘

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Build from source

git clone https://github.com/hou-tea/hou-tea-mcp-server.git
cd hou-tea-mcp-server
npm install
npm run build
node dist/index.js          # speaks MCP over stdio

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Why this exists

Chinese tea has 1500+ years of cultural depth and a global market larger than coffee. But until now, AI agents either (a) hallucinated product names from training data, or (b) failed to scrape JavaScript-rendered storefronts. This MCP gives agents a direct, authoritative, agent-native path to a real catalog with real prices and real on-chain settlement.

If you're building an AI shopping agent, a tea recommendation app, or just want your Claude to be able to actually buy you tea — this is for you.

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License

MIT © hou-tea