I got a sample of Golden Monkey and it tastes OK but I noticed that the leaves did not open up after 2 infusions so I examined them and they appear to be just stems. The dried contents of the sample tin look like rolled leaves untill you soak them. I am not complaining about the tea, but I just wondered if this is normal for this type of tea?
At least there is no seeds!
Steve
Re: Golden Monkey seems to be mainly stems
That doesn't sounds normal. (((I'm a novice when it comes to loose tea leaves))) But it sounds like it was the bottom of the barrel - bad batch that was sent to you. I'd contact the seller and explain what happened and see if they will send you a fresh batch to try. I hear goldem monkey is pretty good, so I'd definitely try to give it another go, maybe even at a different distributor/seller. Good luck!
Re: Golden Monkey seems to be mainly stems
Stems aren´t nessesarily a bad thing...they seem to give the tea a smooth, sweet flavour generally. The Japanese even make a kind of tea which is entirely stems called Kukicha or Karigane.
That said while a golden monkey with some stems wouldn´t be a bad thing if it´s entirely or mostly stems that´s a bit odd for golden monkey....
That said while a golden monkey with some stems wouldn´t be a bad thing if it´s entirely or mostly stems that´s a bit odd for golden monkey....