Golden Monkey (Jin Hou)
Golden Monkey (Jin Hou) is a tippy Chinese black, traditionally from Fujian and also produced in Yunnan, named for the curled golden buds said to resemble a monkey's paw. It sits between everyday hongcha and the all-bud luxury grades: plenty of golden tip, a sweet and gentle cocoa-and-honey cup with low astringency, at a friendlier price than Jin Jun Mei.
A high proportion of curled, golden-downy buds mixed with fine dark leaf; the more uniform the gold tip, the higher the grade. The cup should be sweet and smooth with honey, malt, and a cocoa note, and minimal bitterness. Coarse, stalky, or harsh material is low grade. Fujian versions tend finer and sweeter, while Yunnan versions run maltier and bolder.
Traditionally a Fujian style, the name is now used for tippy golden-bud blacks from several regions, including Yunnan, where large-leaf assamica buds give a maltier, fuller version. It is a grade and appearance name as much as a single origin, so character varies with source, and there is no protected designation.
Gongfu: 5 g per 100 ml, 90°C, 15-20 seconds ascending, 6-8 infusions. Western: 3 g per 200 ml, 90°C, 2.5-3 minutes. Drunk plain, because the sweetness is the point.
Good tippy grades run €15-40 (about $16-43) per 100 g, and the highest all-bud lots reach €40-70 (about $43-76) per 100 g.
Prices reviewed June 2026
Dianhong (Yunnan)
The Yunnan black benchmark, which often overlaps in source material with the Yunnan versions of Golden Monkey.
Yunnan Golden Tips
The closest cousin, a golden-bud Yunnan black; the comparison shows how region shifts a similar grade.
Jin Jun Mei
The all-bud luxury tier above it, sweeter and pricier and far more often counterfeited.
Keemun
The aromatic, wine-like Chinese black alternative, a different idea of a fine black entirely.
Golden Monkey is an export-market name chosen for its evocative imagery. As with many tippy Chinese blacks, the same leaf material can appear under several trade names (Golden Needle, Golden Snail, Golden Monkey) depending on the shaping and the seller.