Fullchea

Not very good – I guess it does kind of have a “toasty bean” aroma and flavor as described, but not very much depth or nuance to it. It does smell good in the bag, though. Pretty boring.

First of all, this not one of the typical varieties of tea tea vendors typically name as “Golden Monkey.” Instead, this is a very large-leaf, Yunnan golden buds type of tea. It is comprised entirely of nice, big, “hairy,” silky smooth, unopened buds.

Vendor describes this tea as having a “roasted nuts flavor,” and I can agree with that. Furthermore, the tea has a nice “autumn leaves” aroma, and hints of maple syrup sweetness. Not as concentrated a maple sweetness that I found in a similar tea from Harney and Sons, but this is close. And really not a bad deal at $14.99/4 oz. on Amazon.com.

This is a great budget-friendly purchase for a higher-quality Yunnan tea. I’ve been getting up to three satisfactory steeps from this one, and it delivers the qualities of a lighter Yunnan black tea that I am looking for.

I think I will continue to sip other golden buds style Yunnan teas (such as the aforementioned one from Harney and Sons, which was absolutely incredible), but I feel that this one is a solid value and not somethin I would mind keeping in my cupboard.

At $12.99/2.5 ounces of leaves, I saw that this might be a remarkable deal. It has a dubious-sounding brand name, but I figured not much to lose at this price.

Glad I made the purchase – Opening the bag, I noticed a wonderful and surprisingly strong fragrance for an unscented tea. I guess this is the “refreshing woody fragrance” from the vendor’s description. It is indeed a woody fragrance, but also sweet, fruity, and floral. Reminds me a bit of the St Germain elderflower liqueur I had tried out not too long ago.

The leaves are impressive in their appearance, just as pictured. Large leaf white silver needles in the Yunnan style, fairly plump and covered with little “hairs,” the leaves feel so nice and silky smooth in your hands. 

Brews to a very pale-yellow color, with a peach tint to it. Very nice delicate flavor – elderflower, green grape, apples, and some oak. Like a chardonnay wine. Good for two or three steeps at least. Seems to coat the mouth a bit and linger lightly, but not as much as I would hope.