Golden Monkey Black Tea

I happened to get this tea on a whim during Teavana’s big annual tea sale, and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it! I would agree with others who have noted that they couldn’t really detect any chocolate flavor, but it was sweet and malty and altogether wonderful so I can’t complain.

I only wish I had more…sadly that stash of tea is long gone. I enjoyed each and every cup I drank, and the fond memory still remains with me. I will have to get this one again someday, although my priority is for teas that are organic, whenever possible, so we’ll see.

Although teavana irritates me to death, this is an essential black tea for any tea fan out there.

Ok, this is weird. My second steep of this Monkey has far outweighed the first. It has no bite, surely no caffeeine, but it has bloomed incredibly. The malt and maple are deeper now and I sense something more than the original tea itself. The color is the same, perhaps lighter, more red than black. But the taste is the same but without the caffeine film.
It could be that the caffeine masks the full flavor of tea?
Can it be that the shadow is better than the caster?

This is how black teas should taste. Although I am drinking it with Earl Grey White Tea by Teavana which makes a good mix since the bergamot makes a transition of simple black tea into some sort of breakfast tea.

I scored a big bag at 75% off when Teavana closed it’s doors. Glad I did. I plan to compare side by side to Harney & Sons GM.
This is malty, smooth, and sweet with cocoa notes and a dry finish. Delicious.

Grabbed a sample, so lets toss it in!

My leaf was mainly black, with only a couple leafs having golden hairs on them. Some people consider that to be an indicator of ‘low quality’ tea, but it also may not be such an indicator. Just something I thought to bring up.

7g, 180mL, 200F with a wash.

Dry Aroma: like other yunnan blacks. A little dark, with mainly burnt fruit notes. A bit of wood as well

Wet aroma: Dark, wet wood, oak, burnt apple, dried fruits, a bit smokey

Colour: A nice whiskey-orange, enters ruby red if you do longer steeps.

So onto the taste profile.

Texture: I’d say in between smooth and rough, and it’s very “coaty”. Really sticks to your mouth everywhere. A bit of astringency at the back of the tongue, but almost none in the throat nor tip of tongue at the first steeps. Afterwards, everything gets drier and drier.

Flavour: Quite smokey actually. Tastes very similar to the aroma: smokey, very slightly woody, but the dried/burnt fruit notes are pretty much hidden. The flavour isn’t complex nor bright, just feels a bit damp and flat.

On later steeps, the flavour is mainly a mild smokeyness with a bit of wet wood and a very very faint hint of dried prune.

If you’re in the mood for a mild smokey black tea, then this is one you might consider. But other than that, I can’t see anything special about it. The more you drink, the drier your mouth. Rather flat taste and doesn’t feel like it has much “life” to it like other teas. Not impressed with this tea, but again it’s decent if you want a mild smokey tea to sip.

Amazing black tea. Very nice and smooth. But very expensive.

A simple, malty tea good for anytime.

Tasty tea. Just wish it wasn’t so expensive.

So, I went by the Teavana again. Mainly because I had time before the bus again. I was curious, and they had this sample. Don’t really like the way they do their teas in store sometimes. It smelled vaguely like cocoa. Though the flavour came across as a bit bitter, and it was not really the right temperature for me. At least I got to try it free.