White Monkey, Chinese Green

White Monkey
Type; Green, China, Fujian, Tai-Mi

Price; £ 4.50 for 50 grams from Anteaques.

http://anteaques.co.uk/greentea/whitemonkey

"Harvested from the Tai-Mi mountain in the Fujian province of China, this green tea has a large number of white tips. The fine white downy hairs on these curved and tangled leaves give the tea its unusual name. It is a superb and delicate green tea with the soft texture of white teas and a grassy and slightly sweet taste.
For this tea, only the tip buds and one leaf are picked during early Spring. The leaves are then gently withered and shaped by hand to preserve the white down. If you enjoy both white and green teas, this is an fantastic amalgam with a sweet silky taste."

Review; At a recent tasting I went to, White Monkey was the favourite chosen by the tasters. It has a unique characteristic of the Chinese green teas, mixed with the silky smooth texture associated with a white tea, that lets it sit on the tongue and dance. I find the leaves to be some of the most beautiful of all, trypanosomes curled around each other. Due to the high number of white hairs on the leaves I find one can actually brew this for longer than one would normally brew a green (I usually brew a green for around 2-3 minutes), as it has such a sweetness to it that follows through with savory chestnuts. Honestly I don’t make this up and dare any and all readers to give this tea a try. To me this is one of the highlights of Chinese green teas.

Enjoy!

-Tea Fan