I love the Chinese black tea called Golden Monkey. The challenge for me is to find a really good one every year because good tea runs out (dang!). It’s been my experience to have to start from scratch each year with Golden Monkey for a multitude of reasons: quality changes; weather issues; supply limitations, etc. Importers change their suppliers depending on the value and quality and that leaves us retailers to investigate the new offerings.
There are many customers who only drink Chinese black teas and seek good quality versus choosing a lower price for mediocre tea. I’m in this category so will spend a lot of time tasting samples and trying to find the best tea while hopefully paying a fair price.
Golden Monkey is from the Panyang area of Fujian Province and the character I’ve grown to love has rich complexity with cocoa notes, slight toastiness, and a natural sweet finish on the end. I’ve found that a good one will steep two times with a favorable second steep. There are teas available called Golden Monkey that are not actually from Fujian Province, and I like to find the authentic tea!
The good news is that I’ve found an exceptional Golden Monkey and will have it available in a week or so. I’m also buying a remarkable Yunnan Golden Bud that has deep, rich flavor with natural hints of citrus and cinnamon. Tea life feels glorious!
Golden Monkey
Yunnan Golden Bud