Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tippy’s Tea
Tea Description:
Decadent dark chocolate and vanilla. Extremely smooth, malty and chocolatey. Hand chopped Madagascar vanilla beans add a sweet and creamy vanilla flavour.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Mmmmmmm! This is really good. REALLY really good.
I’ve tried more than one or two different vanilla flavored black teas, and I’ve enjoyed most that I’ve enjoyed. I can’t think of any vanilla flavored tea that I didn’t at least like. Maybe not love, but I think that I liked most of them.
This one – though – this is one of those that stands out as an EXCELLENT vanilla flavored black tea. What makes this one so different?
Well, I think it has a lot to do with the tea base. It’s a Golden Monkey. The combination of the natural chocolate-y notes of the Golden Monkey along with the sweet, creamy notes of the Madagascar vanilla bean works very well together.
The Golden Monkey is rich and slightly creamy tasting. The aforementioned chocolate notes are bittersweet and this is a really pleasing contrast to the vanilla notes from the vanilla bean.
Another thing that makes this one different is that this doesn’t appear to be a flavored tea. That is to say, it’s not been flavored with flavoring oils. It’s been infused with the flavors naturally using vanilla beans rather than oils. And this gives it a light, natural vanilla flavor rather than a synthetic one. It’s kind of like the difference between a vanilla bean ice cream and a vanilla ice cream. They taste similar, but there is a distinct difference that can be tasted.
That said, because this hasn’t been flavored with oils, the vanilla here is somewhat more subdued than you’d find in a vanilla tea that’s been flavored with oils. If you’re looking for a really STRONG vanilla flavor, then you might want to try a different tea. If you’re looking for a really GOOD vanilla flavor – you’ve found your tea!
Golden Monkey Superfine Grade – 2014 Harvest from Capital Tea Limited
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Capital Tea Limited
Tea Description:
Young, fine and tender prominently golden tea leaves with an intensely forward aroma. These leaves produce a rich, medium bodied tea liquor with a very smooth and sweet flavour that is full of finesse. This tea has a wonderful depth of flavour and is highly recommended.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Really nice! This Golden Monkey has a rich, full-flavor that I want in my first cup of the day, the kind of tea that will help you get a move on!
I received a sampling of this tea from a friendly sipper on Steepster, which is an excellent community of tea drinkers. I like to call Steepster “Facebook for tea drinkers.” Anyway, I’m so grateful to the community because it allows me the opportunity to try some teas that maybe I wouldn’t have been able to try otherwise.
Like this Golden Monkey, for example! To brew this tea, I poured the sampling I received in the basket of my Kati Tumbler and heated 12 ounces of tea to boiling and let the tea steep for 3 minutes.
The aroma is sweet and chocolaty with notes of smoke, earth and leather. These notes translate to the flavor as well, because that’s exactly what I’m tasting! Notes of earth and leather, with background notes of smoke. There is an overtone of chocolate with a sweet undertone of caramel. Luscious!
It’s a remarkably smooth tea – I’m getting virtually no astringency. In the aftertaste, I experience a very slight dryness, but it is so slight that if I wasn’t focusing on it, I don’t know that I would have noticed it. It’s not bitter. It’s just pleasant deliciousness from start to finish.
Another great tea from this company!
Fujian Golden Monkey (Jin Mao Hou) Black Tea from What-Cha Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: What-Cha Tea
Tea Description:
A delightful black tea with a caramel nose and taste without any bitterness or astringency. Perfect for all times of the day.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This tea is AWESOME! Seriously, this is one of my favorite black teas of all time. It’s amazing. Astonishingly good. This!
To brew this tea, I could have gone all out and grabbed the gaiwan and steeped it like that. But, I don’t like to use the gaiwan for black teas because even though I’ve got my easy gaiwan, the boiling water does get those little ceramic “handles” for the fingertips hot and I didn’t want to burn the fingers. So, I used my Kati Tumbler and measured 1 bamboo scoop into the basket and brought 12 ounces of water to a boil and let it steep for 3 minutes.
Even the aroma of the brewed tea, as the cup sits here in front of me and I await the tea to reach a cooler temperature so that I can start sipping – even the fragrance is enough to send me into a state of excitement.
Imagine a kid on Christmas morning. It’s 5: 58 am and his parents said that under no circumstances were they to be awakened before 6 am and the child is trying to be mindful of his parents’ command. So, there he sits, in a state of pure impatient bliss and excitement waiting out those 2 minutes. Yeah, that’s me now, waiting on this tea.
The fragrance is sweet, caramel-y with delicious notes of cocoa. Background notes of leather and earth. It smells so rich and it’s that smell that is telling me to get ready because this is going to taste GOOD!
Oh … so good.
The flavor is what the aroma suggests it would be: sweet, caramel-y with notes of cocoa. The notes of cacao are so well defined that it almost tastes like I dropped a few cacao shells into the basket of the Kati before I brewed the tea. I didn’t, of course, but it tastes like I did!
There’s a backdrop of earthy notes and a leathery tone. Delightful notes of malt that mingle with the notes of caramel and cocoa for a rich flavor that hints at being creamy. It isn’t “creamy” the way some teas can be exactly but it entices the mind to evoke thoughts of something creamy and dreamy.
And really, dreamy is what this tea is. If I had to limit myself to one pure black tea for the rest of my life, this tea would probably be the one that I’d choose. This is the kind of flavor that I love so much that I wouldn’t mind starting every day sipping it. There is no bitterness. There IS a sweet yet savory quality to the tea with an emphasis on the sweet. There is virtually no astringency.
The sip is pure pleasure from start to finish. I love this tea!
Anxi Monkey King (Ma Liu Mie) Tie Guan Yin Oolong Tea from Teavivre
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Tea Description:
TeaVivre brings you the fresh Monkey King Monkey King Tie Guan Yin which has no heavy roasting flavor. It is from the origin place of Tie Guan Yin, Anxi in Fujian Province. The twisted dry leaves are tight and strong in dragonfly-like shape. Dry tea has the light refreshing fragrance of vegetables and fruits. After brewed, the characteristic fresh scent of Tie Guan Yin comes. The tea liquid tastes sweet and its fragrance lasts long.
Tie Guan Yin has two different kinds of making method, Zheng Chao (正炒,) and Tuo Suan (拖酸), which was introduced in the description of Anxi Superfine Tie Guan Yin. This Anxi Monkey King (Ma Liu Mie) Tie Guan Yin belongs to zheng chao Tie Guan Yin tea, has comfortable brisk and smooth flavor without the sour taste on your tongue, just like the Anxi Superfine Tie Guan Yin.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is a lovely Tie Guan Yin – it’s a little different than the ‘typical’ Tie Guan Yin, at least, those that I’m used to. The leaves above look greener than the leaves that I found when I opened the sample pouch, these appear to be a chocolate brown color with notes of a deep forest-y green. They look as though they might have been lightly roasted or at the very least they appear as though they were oxidized a little longer than the typical green Tie Guan Yin.
To brew this tea, I grabbed my gaiwan and measured a bamboo scoop of leaf into the bowl of the gaiwan. I rinsed the leaves for 15 seconds in 180°F. Then I discarded the liquid and resteeped the leaves for 45 seconds in 180°F water and strained the liquid into my teacup. Then I repeated the process, adding 15 seconds onto each subsequent infusion. I combined the first 2 infusions to create my first cup, infusions 3 and 4 combined made my second cup, and so on…
And after tasting the tea, I think I’m correct with the ‘roasted’ guess because I taste a nice roasty-toasty flavor to this. It’s sweet and nutty and very pleasantly smooth. There is very little astringency to this first cup. It’s creamy and this creaminess develops as the cup cools. I found the first few sips to be crisper, brisker than the sips that followed as the cup cooled somewhat. As the tea cooled, the brisk flavor became more subdued and the creaminess came forward. While I liked that brisk note, I am liking the creaminess even more. I like the way it melds with the nutty flavors.
The second cup was not quite as creamy as the first but I found it to be even smoother. The roasty-toasty notes remind me of notes of charred wood and freshly roasted, still warm chestnuts. The toasty flavors lend an autumnal taste to the cup, evoking thoughts of a walk on an afternoon when the weather is crisp and the fallen leaves are crackling beneath your feet. You can smell hints of smoke in the air from a nearby chimney. It’s a very cozy and comforting flavor.
The third cup almost seemed like a different tea entirely! It’s still smooth, but this tastes brisker and cleaner. I’m not getting as much a nutty tone as I’m getting a fruit-like flavor. Hints of peach with the charred wood notes that I experienced in the second cup.
This third cup is a very refreshing tea – my palate feels clean after sipping it but don’t mistake that for a ‘cleansing astringency’ because I’m not experiencing that. What I’m experiencing is a crisp, clean flavor that isn’t inundated with a heaviness. It is gentle and soft on the palate and doesn’t weigh it down with flavors. It’s an invigorating taste. As the cup cools slightly, some of the nutty flavors start to emerge and these meld beautifully with the peachy flavors.
A really lovely Tie Guan Yin. If you are familiar with the greener Tie Guan Yin, I strongly recommend trying this one for something a little different! This is yet another example of why I love Oolong teas so much – the word “Oolong” can mean a vast number of different tastes and just when you think you’re familiar with one type of Oolong, something comes along like this Monkey King and offers something a little different and makes you fall in love with Tie Guan Yin all over again!
Golden Monkey Black Tea from Teavivre
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Tea Description:
Coming from Fujian, the Golden Monkey is made of the fresh buds and leaves of Fuding Pekoe, by lightly sun withering, rolling, fermentation and drying. Golden Monkey has the particular aroma of black tea. You could scent the fruity flavor through every sip of the tea.
The golden hairy tips truly make this tea more attractive. This is one reason why it is called Golden Monkey. Another reason is its monkey-claw-liked shape of the dry tea, which is in golden and black color. When brewed, the Golden Monkey Tea tastes brisk and smooth for the first sip, presenting a distinctive flavor. If you like stronger flavor, you could brew for a longer time. The sweet aftertaste could act faster for thicker liquid. You could only feel it when trying by yourself.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When I got my most recent package from Teavivre, this Golden Monkey Black Tea was the one I was most anxious to try! I love Fujian teas, and Golden Monkey teas are among those that I favor most. And since this Golden Monkey was coming from Teavivre, I KNEW it would be stellar. Teavivre is one of my favorite companies for a reason: they offer some of the finest teas I’ve ever tasted.
And this tea does not disappoint! It’s so good!
It is rich with caramel-y taste, and that caramel-y taste is the reason I find Golden Monkey Teas so enchanting! Well, those yummy caramel-y tones and the notes of cocoa … and this tea has cocoa notes too.
It’s very smooth from start to finish. At the finish, there is a crisp, dry astringency. The sip starts out sweet and robust with notes of earth, leather and fruit. The fruit notes remind me of apricot and raisins. Then I notice the caramel-y undertones and the distant notes of chocolate. As the sip nears the finish, the flavor becomes crisper. The aftertaste is sweet, hinting at a burnt-sugar sort of sweetness with notes of molasses.
I like that this has a bold flavor – it’s a strong enough tea to be something I’d enjoy as my first cup of the day, but it’s smooth and flavorful enough to be something that I’d happily drink throughout the day, any time of day.
A really, really good tea from a company that I knew would deliver nothing but awesomeness!