I asked Husband what sort of hot drink he would like this morning (hoping he wouldn’t say coffee because he’s under the weather and I’d have to grind the beans myself.)
Anyway, he asked for tea.
I asked him if there was a specific one he would like.
He said, “one that mysteriously cures all illness.”
Hm. Tall order…
Eventually, I decided that this would translate to one of the teas in the Life-Giving category, of which Golden Monkeys are prominent members.
So that’s what I made him. Extra strength.
“Oh, did you forget it?” he asked.
The cheek! No, I did not, in fact, forget it. I added extra leaf. On purpose.
Now, if Husband had to pick a most favourite black, I would guess he’d say Golden Monkey. Even more so, mysteriously, than Tan Yang, which is just something I don’t get. Luckily my favourite and his favourite are so similar that they are pretty much interchangable for our purposes.
As it turns out, extra-strength brewing of this one makes it sort of thicker feeling. Bit like there’s some sort of cream in it that you can feel but not taste. At this point, Husband came in and distracted me by showing me a rainbow visible through the window. A really big one too, the whole arch. I tried to take a photo through the window but don’t know how it turned out. Haven’t looked yet.
Second steep is even more extra strength, but this time it wasn’t so much on purpose as it was putting less water in the pot than I thought. That ‘invisble cream’ feeling is still there. This time it’s also more malty and a bit caramelly. It actually tastes like a darkish but still golden caramel brown colour. My head is filled with that colour when I sip. At this strength there is also a smidge of a rough smoky quality to it, but I know that’s really only just because it’s brewed so strong.