The leaves that give this tea its name curl into small dark twists said to resemble monkey claws, laced with threads of gold from the buds picked alongside them. Golden Monkey comes from Fujian and Yunnan in China, plucked by hand each spring using just the bud and the first leaf, the same plucking standard that produces Silver Needle white tea, though here the leaf is fully oxidised into black tea rather than left pale. The cup runs toward apricot, honey and caramel, with a thick, almost medicinal weight on the palate. Because "Golden Monkey" is used loosely across several tea styles, quality and flavour vary by producer; tasting a sample before committing to a batch is the reliable way to judge one lot from another. This tea took second place in the Signature Famous Teas, Hot Tea category at the 2009 World Tea Championship. It is grown at around 1200 metres in Yunnan's misty, mountainous terrain, and by local account has been made in the region for some 1700 years. Older stories describe it being drunk by landlords and Taipans, who prized its rarity enough to credit it with special powers, including boosts to vigour and virility — folklore rather than anything to take literally.
To brew it, use water at or near the boil, around 95-100°C, with about 5g of leaf (roughly a teaspoon) per 200ml cup, and steep for two to three minutes. Spring or filtered water draws out more of the flavour than tap. For iced tea, keep the same ratio and steep five to seven minutes; for cold brew, use about 10g of leaf per litre of cold water and leave it in the fridge for anywhere from a few hours up to a day. Milk and sugar are optional. Caffeine content varies with steeping time, roughly 20 to 70mg per cup. Black tea's theaflavins are traditionally credited with anti-inflammatory and cholesterol-lowering effects, and in Chinese medicine this tea has long been used to settle the stomach; some drinkers also find the combination of caffeine and L-theanine leaves them alert but calm, though none of this should stand in for medical advice.
