We want the tips, the whole tips, and nothing but the tips. Why? Because tea tips are the sweetest and most prized part of the tea leaf. And Golden Monkey is made with almost all golden tea tips.

This gives you a light-bodied black tea that is full of sweetness with hints of semi-sweet chocolate. Out of all the true black teas, this is the most refined and complex. So much so that it was the tea of choice when Chinas President Hu Jintao visited the White House in 2011. Tasting Notes Fluffy, golden tea tips are what give this tea its special flavor.

Using the same processing techniques as delicate white teas, Golden Monkey has mellow notes of semi-sweet chocolate and apricots and has a light, smooth finish with hints of pecans. A black tea for those with sophisticated palates. Sourcing Golden Monkey tea is grown in the coastal region of Chinas Fujian Province.

This area is known for producing white teas, specifically Silver Needles. In the 1990s, tea sales were low so clever farmers decided to turn their prized Silver Needles into a black tea. Having experience growing Silver Needles, the tea farmers knew that the tips were the sweetest part of the tea leaf.

The reason is because, over the winter, the tea plants store all of their nutrients. When spring finally arrives, all of the nutrients are pushed out in the first tea tips, which are then plucked and oxidized to create a beautiful, golden-colored tea. This particular crop is grown at the base of the Wuxi Mountains in Northern Fujian. Plucked in the springs early first flush, it is then oxidized to give a full, complex flavor.