Upon my latest visit to Jeffersons Tea shop, the purveyor drew my attention to a new tea which he had in stock by accident - a wrong delivery of Yunnan Golden Monkey. This tea gets its name from where it is grown (Yunnan province of China), the quality of the leaf (high percentage of gold tips and buds), and the original method of its harvesting (monkeys were used to pick the leaves of the large trees growing precariously on the side of mountains. The 'monkey' reference may also refer to the appearance of the leaf resembling the hair (or the claws) of the Golden Yunnan Monkey which is native to this area.
This tea is fantastic! The aroma has an amazingly sweet bouquet. The tea brews a lovely bright reddish-amber colour and the taste is a blend of Yunnan's unique pepperyness and a well rounded fruitiness with a hint of honey.
Yunnan Golden Monkey continues to brew well after three infusions, remaining clear in the cup and surprisingly bright in flavour. At this point in time, this tea is my favourite black tea. The search is now on for another to replace it!
