Not actually picked by monkeys, the name refers to the legend that monkeys were employed by tea growers to pick this tea, since it has been traditionally grown at high altitudes and it is said to have been grown on high outcroppings so inaccessible that humans were not able to pick the leaves.
Our Monkey Picked Tie Guan Yin was grown high in the Wuyi Mountains and medium roasted, giving it an earthy yet somewhat floral taste that falls somewhere between our Full Roast Tie Guan Yin and our Supreme Jade Tie Guan Yin, while having a character of its own unlike either. Highly aromatic, this tea brews into a dark yellow to tan color that will last through several infusions. We recommend an initial steep of 20 seconds or so which may be discarded, to open the leaves and warm the teaware, followed by several short steeps in near-boiling water.
Spring 2023 Harvest.
