Description
There are almost as many stories about where the names of Chinese teas come from as there are tea leaves in a pot. In the case of the rather charmingly named Golden Monkey you can choose between the unlikely tale that back in the day the tea leaves were picked by specially trained monkeys to reach tea plants in high mountains that were not accessible to humans or that the beautiful long slender leaves resemble monkeys paws.
However the name came about what is certain is that this tea is a wonderful example of a Chinese black tea. Using a special production method to control oxidisation, first of all the tea makers take great care to harvest the leaves when the buds are as large as possible. Only the largest, youngest buds with one or two leaves are used, and the leaves are then carefully withered, rolled, oxidised, roasted, shaped and finally dried. The finished tea is low in tannins and the extra sugars in the tips give the tea an added sweetness – quite incredible and a real treat for black tea lovers!