Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Georgia Tea Company
Tea Description:
Black tea from the Fujian province of China. Golden Monkey tea is hand-processed each spring with a careful plucking of only one leaf and one bud. It is among the finest Chinese black teas available today. The name comes from its unique appearance: the leaves resemble monkey claws. If you enjoy full-bodied teas with an abundance of flavor, we urge you to give this tea a try. It has a very smooth flavor and brews a golden brown.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is LOVELY! Of the many pure black teas out there, if I had to choose but one to drink for the rest of my life, I think that a Fujian tea like this Golden Monkey Black Tea from Georgia Tea Company would definitely be in the running for that one tea.
I love the rich, full flavor of this Golden Monkey. It has a strong malty tone with notes of cacao and a delectable caramel-y undertone. Mmm! It is sweet and delicious (and cozy!) but it also has the kind of GUSTO that I look for in a black tea. It’s invigorating enough to get me going when I’m looking for that nudge to wake.
The astringency here is what I’d categorize as mild to moderate. There is a slight – very slight! – bitter intonation to this cup which suggests to me that perhaps I brewed it a tad too long (3 minutes) and so it is advisable to watch the steep time with this tea. Next time, I’ll go with 2 1/2 minutes for a smoother cup.
Overall, a very delicious cup of tea.
On The First Day of Christmas, Southern Boy Teas Edition!
OK, so like I promised you on the first day of Christmas with my previous countdown, I was planning on doing two countdowns per day, unfortunately, it didn’t quite work out that way. Instead, I decided to do 1 of the countdowns starting on the 14th of December and counting down to Christmas, and then I’ll do the second version which will actually BE on the 12 days of Christmas, starting on the “actual” first day of Christmas, December 25th. Not that it really matters to me. All that really matters to me … is the tea.
So, my second Christmas countdown this year is with Southern Boy Teas (aka 52Teas) and their Iced Teas! Let’s get this thing started!
Monkey Fart Iced Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Learn more about Southern Boy Teas here.
Taster’s Review:
Recently, Frank at 52Teas ran a fundraising campaign to get some new equipment that he needed to operate more efficiently, specifically for his iced tea line which he calls Southern Boy Teas. That campaign was very successful, and out of that success, Frank decided to not only do his 52Teas version of the 12 Days of Christmas, but also a SBT’s version of the 12 Days of Christmas.
For today’s iced tea, Frank chose Monkey Fart. Now, I have already brewed and reviewed the Monkey Fart iced tea, and I imagine that quite a few of this selection of 12 iced teas I’ve already tried, however, Frank has added quite a few new flavors to his SBT line, so I think I’ll be in for a surprise along the way too.
But, let me just say that I’m glad that Monkey Fart was part of this collection. No, I’m still not crazy about the name. It still weirds me out a little bit to think that I’m drinking something called Monkey Fart.
Nonetheless, this tea is tasty. I cold-brewed it, and it’s as tasty as I remember it. Sweet and loaded with banana flavor that is more like candy than true-to-the-fruit banana flavor, but, I don’t mind it, because like I said in my previous review, it tastes a bit like banana cotton candy that’s been liquefied and then added to a glass of black iced tea. YUM!
I hope that the rest of the Southern Boy Teas countdown is as tasty as the first day has been.
Organic White Monkey Green Tea from Kally Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Kally Tea
Tea Description:
Organic green tea with white downy tips. Chinese green tea grown on the slopes of the Taimu mountains in the Fuijian province of China.
A light cup with a slightly natural sweetness from the green tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When I opened the pouch of this Organic White Monkey Green Tea from Kally Tea, I could smell the vegetative notes immediately, along with a sweet note, and a hint of floral notes in the background. It smelled really lovely, like a sunny spring morning.
The flavor I first noticed with my first sip was a sweet, nutty note. Having tried a few White Monkey teas in the past, I found myself trying to recall if I normally experienced a nutty flavor. The aroma of the dry leaf suggests a somewhat leafy or grassy taste, but, it’s not there. I don’t get a strong “vegetal” note here. In fact, I think that this would be an excellent tea for those who are new to green tea and just a little bit intimidated by the grassy taste of some other green teas out there.
The floral notes are also not as pronounced as I expected them to be. Instead, I’m tasting a sweet, buttery and nutty flavor at the start of the sip. When I slurp the sip, I even pick up on some hints of cacao! Lovely!
Overall, this is a pleasant, delicate tasting tea. Toward the finish, I notice a slight fruity note – it is sweet and complements the nutty tones well. A nice complexity, and I like that I’m not picking up on any bitterness or astringency to this. It’s just a mild, relaxing cuppa!
White Monkey Green Tea from Little Red Cup Tea Co.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Little Red Cup Tea Co.
Tea Description:
Little Red Cup Tea’s organic White Monkey Tea is a terrific mountain-grown tea from western Hunan Province. Despite its name, White Monkey Tea is, in fact, a green tea — a function of processing — but when steeped, the tightly rolled leaves unfurl yielding a lovely golden brew more akin to white tea than anything else. It is made from the earliest leaves, still covered with downy white hairs for which the tea is named.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
A lovely tea, this White Monkey Green Tea from Little Red Cup Tea Co.! The texture is what captures my attention immediately, it’s so soft and silky. It’s like a fine broth, very gentle and soothing as it floats across the palate.
The flavor is a gentle green tea flavor. The “grassy/vegetative” tones here are very subtle, much softer than in a typical green tea. This tea is called “White Monkey” not because it’s a white tea, but because the leaves have the tiny, white fuzz (similar to what you’d find on a Silver Needle tea!) But, even though it is not a white tea, it does share something in common with a white tea – it’s delicate quality.
The flavor is so delicate! And I like that! I suppose a stronger flavor could have been obtained with more leaf, or with a longer steep time (I steeped this for 2 minutes in 175°F water in my Breville One-Touch), but I like it this way – I like the gentle quality of this tea.
The sip starts with the soft texture, which gently introduces the delicate vegetative notes that are influenced by whispers of floral tones. By mid-sip, I notice a buttery flavor which complements the texture of the tea very well. The finish brings hints of a fruit like note, almost citrus-y. The aftertaste has a slightly sweet, slightly tangy note. There is very little astringency to this, and absolutely no bitterness.
This is a really nice green tea offering from Little Red Cup Tea Co., and I’m thinking it’s one of my favorites that I’ve tried thus far from them!
Golden Blend from Harney & Sons
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Harney & Sons
Tea Description:
A new blend of Golden Monkey from Fujian Province and Assam FTGFOP, that makes a great tea that is very solid. If one’s bent was towards milk and sugar, that would not be a problem.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Golden Blend from Harney & Sons has a lovely dry leaf with lots of golden tips amid the deep, dark black tea leaves. The aroma of the dry leaf is sweet and rich, reminiscent of a freshly baked tea cake that is studded with lots of dark raisins. After I typed that description, I checked the scent on the dry leaves again, to see if that’s what I really smelled, and yes, indeed! It smells so much like sweet, juicy raisins bursting with flavor.
The brewed tea aroma is much more subtle, but the fragrance I noticed in the dry leaf is present in the brewed liquid as well. Sweet, raisin-y, with a distinct fresh-baked aroma.
The flavor … oh! Sublime! The tea brews up dark and delicious – with notes of chocolate, caramel, malt and hints of earth and woodsy tones. Overall, it has a masculine tone to it, a ruggedness without being too aggressive. This is more like a suave, debonair gentleman. This is smooth and rich. It is savory yet sweet. The raisin-y note that I mentioned previously is there. It has that bake-y, cake-y kind of taste to it. It would make a lovely choice for that first cup of the day, but also would make a nice cuppa for that afternoon pick-me-up.
There is some dry astringency to this but I don’t get any hint of bitterness to it. I only steeped the pot for 2 1/2 minutes, so that might be why. Since this does have Assam in the blend, I wouldn’t recommend going much longer than that 2 1/2 minutes … because it could very well become bitter if left to steep too long. But as for this pot … I think it came out very close to perfect.
This is delightful!