985 Tasting Notes
I had this tea last night. I can really see the progression in my tastes as I could definitely taste something off in this tea. There are only a few decaf blacks that taste good to me, now. I am purging several from my cupboard. If it is still in my cupboard, it is not a bad choice in my book.
I thought I would drink this one in contrast to my previous log for tea that is 4 cents a cup. This one works out to be 50 cents a cup. Yep, roasty, toasy with chocolate notes, super smooth and pure yum. However, I would never dream of icing this one. For me, iced tea is more about the temperature than the actual quality of the tea. I nearly always drink iced tea without any additions, even sweetener. I use iced tea mostly to refresh. In order to truly savor a tea, I must have it hot. Prepared with just enoough sweetener to bring out the chocolate notes. Second steap at 6 minutes….and just as good as the first. Worth the price!
Preparation
Bargain Basement Time-
Onto my cup #9. (I just have to thank Upton for having such a vast variety of teas for sampling! Huzzah!)
This one is probably the cheapest of the bunch. It is one of their Season’s Picks, so the minimum you can order other than a sample is 250g. But is it only $4.70 for 8.8 ounces of tea, or 53 cents an ounce! Yes, truly a bargain. To break that down even further, using the average of about 12 cups per ounce, we are talking about 4 cents a cup. When I make a pitcher of iced tea, I use about 6 tsp, so my whole pitcher is about a quarter. Now that is a refreshing number.
All of those numbers sound great, but how does it taste? Really, it is pretty good. I am positive it would beat Lipton easily for taste. There are no roasty, toasty, notes, or hints of chocolate, but it is a good solid, smooth tea. Upton describes it like a Keemun without any smokey notes. If I did not have about 20 varieties in my cupboard to make iced tea (meaning teas I bought and did not really care for them hot), it would be on my shopping list, because I do like this one hot, too. Maybe next season.
(Better go make something iced ASAP.)
Preparation
And my second steap was good!
It is when you start buying “cheap” but “serious” tea like this that you begin to realize just how HORRIBLE the stuff in tea bags really is.
You’re down to 4 cents a cup, and a Lipton bag wouldn’t taste as good? What does that tell you about the (literally) worthless powder they’re putting into those bags?
The Three Golden Monkeys….
I must be on about cup #8 for China black tea sampling. This one is a good choice, because I currently have three varieties of Golden Monkey in my posession. On smelling all three, this one smells the richest and sweetest, and the other two smell more floral in comparison. (The two in this comparison are Harney’s Golden Monkey, and Adagio’s Golden Monkey.) I do think this is definitely the sweetest and smoothest of the three. It is the apple notes in with the honey and cocoa notes. Really, though, I am pretty much smitten with any Golden Monkey, but this one has me rethinking buying my next bunch from Harney.
Cost comparison: This one is $16.20 for a 125 gram bag or $18.20 for a 125 gram tin, resulting in a cost for the tin of $2 (and it is your choice!) and $3.68 per ounce. Shipping is a flat $4.20 in the US.
Harney is out of stock until Septemberish. They sell 4 ounces for $17 in a tin. Cost per ounce is $4.25. But you can usually find a shipping deal at $25 purchased. (Which is awesome to have such a low minimum for free shipping!)
Adagio is 3 ounces for $15 without a tin. That works out to $5 an ounce. Free shipping starts at $50, or is $3.75 flat rate in the US, unless you live in what they consider a rural area. Then I think it is more like $5.75 flat rate.
Prices might be related differently with greater volumes purchased, but I tend to stick with smaller amounts to make sure it is fresh. I have too many other tea loves to monogamously commit to one Golden Monkey. Really, they are all pretty close, and you are just better off to choose your favorite, or where you are shopping this week! I rank them for taste from best/best to least/best (weird name, but they are all good!) Upton ZP85, Harney, Adagio.
Preparation
This is great to know, since I have such a golden monkey on my back! ;)
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Oooo, I love Harney’s Golden Monkey. Maybe I should try this one! I looked at several on the Upton site and all said out of stock, as is Harney’s right now. I tried Teavana’s and while it was very VERY good tea and smelled just like Golden Monkey, it tasted nothing like it.
asmanra- This one is in stock. Try searching by the number.
I smiled at your lead sentence, “The Three Golden Monkeys.” Doesn’t that sound like a children’s story? :)
Found it! And I want the digital tea scale from them as well….
My morning tea…..
I like this tea, and it could easily replace my English Breakfast….until I order again! ;) A good basic China black tea at a great price.
I have to admit I am a little concerned at the issues faced by Canadian customers when ordering….. It is a shame, because I feel Harney has lots to offer, and we get stellar service with domestic shipping. I hope they can get their act together. I am not sure why international shipping goes out so much slower than domestic, or why those emails inquiring about international parcels seem to be ignored. They need to streamline their process, or be completely up front concerning international package turnaround (like do international packages only go out once a week?). They are in a global economy, and need to adapt.
Preparation
Hear hear!
cough Tan Yang Te Ji from Teaspring cough I’ve never had H&S’ version, but the aforementioned is a very very good representation of the type.
I’ve been following the exchange of complaints about H&S international customer service levels on the other post, and I have to say I’m totally backing you on that one. I used to be sorry that this was a company out of my reach as they have a number of things I’d have liked to try, but after reading that, I’m thinking I’m probably not missing out on anything. Awful customer service can ruin the best of products. The extra amount of time it takes to deliver internationally should be because the actual shipping distance is longer, not because it gets second priority to non-international orders.
I still had a bit of this in my stash after swapping, and I decided to see how it compared to my memory of David’s Tea Buttered Rum.
The Rum Cream definitely has a vanilla and rum flavor that is pretty good. For a flavored tea, it really is enjoyable even though the second steap at 5 minutes is kind of weak. The Buttered Rum definitely smells sweeter, and the tea itself is in larger pieces. I can recall that the Buttered Rum is also smoother and had more of a creamy taste to the liquor. All that being said, the Rum Cream is not a bad substitute in a pinch, but I still prefer the other.
I tried this blend this afternoon courtesy of QueenofTarts. Thanks for swapping!
I have to say, I really had trouble tasting the other flavors in with the rooibos. I really did not even get a hint of black tea. I am finding that there are only a few red rooibos blends that I really enjoy. This one was good, but nothing special.
Preparation
My morning tea since I am out of English Breakfast (I know!) Right now I am on the second steep at 5 minutes.
Good and easy. I did have this a few days ago, and way overbrewed. Not a good situation because it got very bitter. This is a good basic tea, just watch the steep time.
