Opening the sample…the smell that hit my nose was absolutely gorgeous. It smelled luxurious. Really luxurious. Even my husband, who has the most useless nose ever (love you honey!) smelled it and said “Wow! Smells like chocolate! THAT one I can smell!” The leaves and liquid carried a strong yam smell, and also a bit of smokiness that surprised me. For some reason I wasn’t expecting a smoky note from Golden Monkey. Maybe because I didn’t think monkey’s smoked.( insert rolling eyes here. sorry.) The liquid was a beautiful golden amber color….and then it was in my cup…and then it was half gone… this is incredibly smooth. A touch of malt, yams, the cocoa my husband so proudly detected, a touch of smoky tobacco… it’s all there, but combined in a different way than the Yunnan’s I’ve had before. It has a “more adult” flavor….like a wine you’d serve at special occasions that paired nicely with the meal you were serving. I think there is a touch of astringency here, but it is just enough to keep the flavor profile from sitting on the bottom….it adds a bit of buoyancy to the taste of this tea, without drying your mouth out. Lovely.
Now that I’ve finished my 2nd cup, I can wholeheartedly state that TeaVivre’s Golden Monkey is a lovely and luxurious tea that is deep with flavor and complexity….. wonderful.
Here is a link to the photo: https://twitter.com/squeediebeebert/status/478216252457254912
Flavors: Cocoa, Malt, Smoke, Tobacco, Yams
Love this review… and love this tea.