FullChea - Golden Monkey Tea - Chinese Black Tea Loose Leaf with Gold Tips - Health Tea (8.8oz / 250g)

I'm new to buying Chinese whole leaf teas direct from China, but I'm really excited to take deep dives into some of the best whole leaf teas in the world at really inexpensive prices. This looked like a nice black tea to try out that wasn't very expensive for me.I believe golden monkey tea is a style of black tea made from early harvest tea leaves from Fujian and Yunnan provinces in China. Similar to silver needle white teas, but processed differently to make black teas. Golden monkey gets its name from the gold tips on these leaves. What an absolutely adorable name that's evocative of the Monkey King and his adventures in Chinese mythology and Buddhism.Here's my brewing method:- filtered water boiled to 200-212 in an electric kettle- 3g tea leaves to 3oz water, so I brewed 6g tea to 6oz water for multiple steeps (Edit: for those in the U.S. who want easier measurements, I use about 2 Tbsp of tea to 8-10 oz of water. If you want a less strong flavor, add less tea leaves.)- 5 second wash to open the leaves and remove excess bitterness and astringency, which I hate- 3-5 minute first steep- subsequent steeps brew time was just to taste, so more than 5 minutesTea Color: clear reddish brownTop scent and flavor notes were earthy, biscuity. Mid-palate notes are sweet and slightly acidic like stone fruit. End notes are sweet and smooth like cream.I like fruit and sweet-tasting teas, so for me this golden monkey black tea is a really pleasant and drinkable breakfast black tea. And you get a TON of loose leaves in this package. So my recommendation is to brew it for strong flavor. If it doesn't hurt your wallet to buy nearly 9 oz of loose tea leaves for $14, you can stand to brew strong cups of the tea for best flavor. And since whole tea leaves can be re-steeped the same day for more great tea, you're getting great flavor and a great deal from FullChea.

Firstly, I want to be clear than I'm not exactly a connoisseur of Chinese teas(honestly a lot of them taste like dirt to me because getting actual good quality ones in the US is EXPENSIVE and the cheaper ones don't do it justice so I just haven't explored them much), a lot of my taste does lean more Western/UK, so maybe take my word with a grain of salt.I really like this tea. It tastes like a smooth black tea with a syrup-like flavor I've never encountered in an unflavored tea before. It's not astringent at all and even when way oversteeped it doesn't really get bitter. Maybe this isn't the highest quality, but it definitely met my expectations based on what I've read about Golden Monkey tea, and the value is incredible for how expensive this tea can be. It's now one of my favorites and will absolutely be repurchased.

Lovely, malty tea. I have reordered this several times. Nice deep red color. Steep longer (5-7 minutes) for more maltiness, or less time (about 3 minutes) for lighter flavor. With a shorter steep you can reuse and get maybe three cups. I use three balls per cup. Yummy!!

Nice medium black tea that is strong enough to use twice…great aroma and taste

This product is very tasty and makes a nice malty flavored tea. The quality has not varied in the years I have been drinking this tea.

Delicious Tea! Clean crisp flavor. Wonderful as iced. Even better mixed with Adagio Pu er Dante. I drink this mixture as an iced tea all day!

Tea has a very nice flavor. Not a connoisseur, I can't explain the nuances, but it's very pleasant and easy to drink.

I didn’t expect much from this tea given the price point. I made several cups with the golden monkey tea and it is now my absolute favorite. The tea looks exactly as described with long full leaves and the promised golden tips. The aroma pre steep had an earthy sweet savory smell leaning towards apricot. I steeped this at 80C rather than 90C and did a 10sec steep. After the wash the tea became very fragrant with malty sweet apricot notes. The liquid was the same color as described, and the flavor had the same taste as the scent with a lingering sweet aftertaste . This is hands down going to be a tea cabinet staple