87
drank Golden Monkey by Tao Tea Leaf
413 tasting notes

Though it’s a very popular type of tea, this is the first Golden Monkey I’ve tried. I was put off by the profile, which I recall emphasizes malt, leather, tobacco, and other burly flavours. However, I picked up a pouch of this from Tao Tea Leaf in their Christmas 2015 sale, and am just getting around to it. I steeped 5 g of leaf in a 120 ml teapot at 195F for 10, 12, 15, 18, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, and 240 seconds.

The first couple steeps are a surprise, offering notes of milk chocolate, brown sugar, caramel, mild sweet potato, roasted almond, and wood. Combined with the fact that it has almost no astringency, this makes for a tasty brew! Malt starts to emerge in the third steep, but it doesn’t overpower the chocolate and other flavours. I do get hints of earth and leather in the last few steeps, but the chocolate doesn’t disappear.

Either this Golden Monkey is atypical, or my impressions of the type were way off. Though not the most complex tea in the world, its smoothness and chocolatey sweetness made me enjoy it much more than I thought I would. One tiny drawback is that the thin, wiry leaves fit perfectly through the holes in my gongfu teapot, regularly ending up in my cup. Still, this Golden Monkey was well worth holding onto.

Flavors: Almond, Brown Sugar, Caramel, Chocolate, Earth, Leather, Malt, Sweet Potatoes, Wood

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 5 g 4 OZ / 120 ML

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

People who liked this

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Profile

Bio

Since I discovered Teavana’s Monkey Picked Oolong four years ago, I’ve been fascinated by loose-leaf tea. I’m glad to say that my oolong tastes have evolved, and that I now like nearly every tea that comes from Taiwan, oolong or not, particularly the bug-bitten varieties. I also find myself drinking Yunnan blacks and Darjeelings from time to time, as well as a few other curiosities.

However, while online reviews might make me feel like an expert, I know that I still have some work to do to actually pick up those flavours myself. I hope that by making me describe what I’m tasting, Steepster can improve my appreciation of teas I already enjoy and make me more open to new possibilities (maybe even puerh!).

Location

Toronto

Following These People

Moderator Tools

Mark as Spammer