Keemun Encore

this is a fairly simple cup of tea. kinda flat in nuance i guess. but nothing problematic or offensive. it’s kinda gentle in a way. hobbity. it has some nice damp earthiness to it. i’m sure my man-friend will drink it all up if i don’t watch him closely.
thanks very much TastyBrew! i’ll have several more cups of this i’m certain.

Jeremy Scahill/Glenn Greewald fan fic. horrible idea, or BEST IDEA EVER!?!?!!!!!

i’m gonna order a tea from Adagio, and i wanted to ask my friendly and thoughtful followers if you have a favorite Adagio tea they recommend. it’s hard to tell from the company steepster page what is actually the best because it’s opinions from the whole steepster community who i don’t know at all and may not even be active anymore. but i know the people i follow tastes quite a bit more, so i’d probably fair better with some of your personal picks. Thanks!! xo

I decided to go for black tea over yerba mate – I like the yerba mate but it makes me too jazzed for writing. Saving that for later in the day when I’m flagging…
So, I opened up the bag of the Keemun Encore – wow, the leaves are so tiny! I really like the scent of this. It’s creamy and smokey in this wonderful dark way like the back of a cool cabinet.
After brewing it, I’m getting really strong smooth overtones of cream and honey. I tried it black first. Drinking it was… interesting. None of the sweetness of the scent translates into flavour, but the smokiness definitely does. It is pleasantly astringent, with a funny aftertaste that lingers. It’s almost metallic, along with the smoke. I’m actually picturing a soldier from the 1930s opening a cigarette case in a cave. How’s that for oddly specific tea imagery?
In its favour, the liquor is really really nicely thick. I’m not sold on the taste – going to add some milk to this cup and then try a second infusion. Not bad, the scent is great, the taste is slightly un-complex and a little “funny”.

ETA – I added milk and have completely changed my opinion. The milk brings all the creaminess and smokiness from the initial scent right to the front and takes away the metallic flavor. With milk, it is a really really nice drink. Still not wildly complex or anything but just really pleasant. Wow, what a difference!

Hate the smell, love the taste. That seems to be the theme of the teas that I have had over the last few hours. This one is very nice, though it smells very generic. There are nice chocolate notes and very little bitterness. I might not buy this one regularly, but as a sample, not bad.

Unlike other Keemuns I’ve had this is less chocolate and more smokey with an almost blackcurrant sweetness. I steeped only for two minutes which was plenty. It has a brothy mouthfeel with a dry aftertaste. Nice but I like Keemuns with a chocolate taste better.

Lovely. Rich and aromatic. It’s raining in Seattle today and nothing could suit me better than a huge cup of tea before today’s adventures.

aromas of wood, root, light briskness, and gentle plum sweetness/tartness

Very smoky, a little sweet, but not as sweet as the Keemun Concerto. I’m not getting much of a rich or chocolatey flavor, but there is kind of a woody astringent aftertaste. Good, but not my favorite Keemun.

Good tea for a cold, rainy day. Mild woody, smoky flavor. Not quite on my list of favorites, but close. I’ll have to tuck this away for another try later.

I was looking for something dark and comforting this morning and this Keemun does the job very nicely. Lots of different woodsy flavors although I fail to find the chocolate.

Wonderful aroma.

I associate this tea with autumn and a big heavy earthenware mug. It isn’t delicate or dessert-y.

Woody, with what another taster described as a little briskness. I agree! Tasty.

This is very rich and has an almost metallic bite to it (which I think would be greatly improved by a teaspoon or so of agave). Definitely buying the next size up.