A mini guide to tea (IV)
I got an interesting present from Juanpi’s mom. Knowing my enthusiasm for teas, she gave me a tin of keemun tea. It’s always a delight for me to taste new teas and even if I’m not so much into black teas (mainly because of my sensitive stomach), the reputation of Keemun black tea is just quite high, so I had to give it a try.
Keemun (which is how it was spelt by the English during the colonial era) got its name from the Qimen County (southern Anhui province, Eastern China), where it is grown; it’s considered the finest of black teas., and ever since it found its way into English homes, traditional keemun has become the key ingredient in English breakfast tea blend.
Its history is quite short, they started producing it after 1875; before that our keemun was just an average green tea – until they began fermenting it. Fermentation caused these leaves to produce such a fine tea that they often name it “the Burgundy” of China teas.
Being particularly full of flavour, quality keemun is believed to have a combination of fruity, flowery and smoky flavours. You can find a number of description regarding this special black tea: excellent, best fragrant tea in the world and without a match, if I remember just a few of them.
They also say that a good quality keemun keeps its properties for long if stored properly: with time it’s even supposed to take on a mellow wine-y character – which gives the Burgundy comparison even more sense, doesn’t it? Observing the tin can I got, I’d say it surely is well stored.
And now to the visual part:
Keemun (which is how it was spelt by the English during the colonial era) got its name from the Qimen County (southern Anhui province, Eastern China), where it is grown; it’s considered the finest of black teas., and ever since it found its way into English homes, traditional keemun has become the key ingredient in English breakfast tea blend.
Its history is quite short, they started producing it after 1875; before that our keemun was just an average green tea – until they began fermenting it. Fermentation caused these leaves to produce such a fine tea that they often name it “the Burgundy” of China teas.
Being particularly full of flavour, quality keemun is believed to have a combination of fruity, flowery and smoky flavours. You can find a number of description regarding this special black tea: excellent, best fragrant tea in the world and without a match, if I remember just a few of them.
They also say that a good quality keemun keeps its properties for long if stored properly: with time it’s even supposed to take on a mellow wine-y character – which gives the Burgundy comparison even more sense, doesn’t it? Observing the tin can I got, I’d say it surely is well stored.
And now to the visual part:
Unfortunately it doesn’t specify which variety of keemun it is
Definitely a well stored tea
Beautifully curled leaves of an intense dark brown-to-reddish colour
Keemun from close
On the contrary to most green teas, black teas need to be brewed in boiling water. Luckily for me, keemun contains less caffeine than -for example- Assam tea. I let it steep for about 1 minute, and for every next steep I extend the brewing time a bit. It makes a beverage of amber or dark orange colour. I’m not sure yet I can depict its aroma; I guess I need some more time to figure it out…
Usually enjoyed without milk or sugar, keemun can taste a bit bitter sometimes. I solved that with the help of some homemade cookies
