Truly superb! I haven't tried that many Golden Monkey teas, but after brewing this one multiple times, I think it is my favorite. Its leaf is packed with flavor and, although it had the smoothness of other golden monkey teas, I found it had a strength that was lacking from other examples of this style that I had tried previously.

Fine, delicate, and quite curly leaf has a dusty, golden-orange appearance and a strong and very pleasant smell, very malty, like whole grain rye crackers, and also suggesting sweetness.

Cup initially seems light, but is very full-flavored and rich. The flavor isn't bold or in your face, but it's very intense and I find that the more I drink, the more I need to slow down drinking this tea. I wasn't able to drink it while the cup was still hot, but thankfully, it was just as pleasant when luke warm. I found fruity notes in the aroma came out a little more when the tea had cooled. I also found that as the cup cooled, it tasted sweeter. By the final sip, it was sweet, mellow, and oolong-like, almost hinting at floral and honey-like qualities.

Resteeps very well. The second cup has the very pleasant malty aroma, and a bold flavor, although the fruity aroma is diminished. I liked best, steeping for 3 minutes followed by 8, and going sparingly on the leaf. This tea is a little costlier than most, per pound, but I found that the leaf stretched very far, making it offer better value. It is fairly loosely packed and takes up a lot of space, so one teaspoon is less by weight than a teaspoon of a typical black tea. Yet I found myself actually needing less than a teaspoon of leaf to brew up a flavorful cup.

I highly recommend this if you like smooth black teas, with low bitterness and astringency, yet still with a rich and satisfying flavor.

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