Keemun Hao Ya

Tea: 4/4 of the red tea sampler set
I’m really not such a huge fan of keemun, but this isn’t bad at all.

I broke my glass teapot last night, what a bummer. As much as I love glass teaware I have to admit it isn’t very practical. I guess I have an excuse to get one of those “For Life” teapots I’ve been eyeing.

After two minutes, this steeps up to be a nice reddish-brown. It isn’t smoky at all. I’m getting some nice chocolate notes with a gentle sort of pungency that reminds me slightly of red wine. This is quite a bit softer and milder than other keemuns I have tried, and tastes very clean to me.

I’m pretty impressed with jing tea shop so far, everything I’ve tried has been delightful. I would probably rate this higher if I were a true keemun lover.

The dry leaf aroma is typical of Keemun, so I expect this to be an enjoyable session. Since this sort of tea always seems to have choppy leaves, I will just prepare it western style.

Sipping from the first steep, I’m hit by mild floral notes, then the tea base and a pungent maltyness (in a good way!). Not very smoky or bitter at all, and the aftertaste is a milder pungent maltyness from before.

My second steep had the same flavour as the first cup. Looking on the website, it mentions a sweetness and apple like characteristic. I can kinda see that, but the pungent maltyness captures my attention.

Not my favourite from the black tea samples, but I do enjoy a good cup of Keemun. This particular one is enjoyable and not disappointing at all. Keemun always has a very distinctive flavour, the sort of thing that you either love or hate. If you’re interested in Keemun but have never tried it before, I’d recommend getting a sample size.

200ml glass teapot (filled mostly), 1 1/2 tsps, 2 steeps