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Our No.501 China Keemun Special Grade is our recommendation for an everyday China black tea. It has all the classic characteristics of a fine Keemun – reddish brown cup color, medium to full bodied with mellow smokiness, touches of fruit and a fresh baked bread quality. A touch of milk can bring out a soft floral note. All these notes can be found in its wonderful aroma. It is an excellent breakfast tea but is also great any time of day. Try it on a snowy morning, or out in the yard on a brisk night under the stars.
Tastes very woodsy-sweet—like sandalwood and maple syrup. Has a bit of “chewiness” and a hint of breadiness. The smokiness is more apparent on cooldown.
I’m really enjoying this cup—I think this is (was) a very good tea. It is very yummy. Makes a great breakfast tea—very substantial and invigorating. I love the mapley, caramelly, woodsy sweetness.
In short, Keemuns are great! :)
(and R.I.P. SpecialTeas!!!)
This tea is much smokier than the Keemun I have from the Granville Island Tea Co – it’s almost more like a Russian Caravan tea than a plain black. It’s vaguely bakey and mildly tannic with a hint of bitterness. I’m not really picking out the fruity notes the description touts, maybe I should reduce the steeping time to see if I can pick up more of the subtleties.
I got this in a swap from Jude. Just enough to make a 4-cup pot of it, perfect! Not so awesome that this tea seller has gone out of business?
This is a nice cup of tea, malty and sweet with a bit of caramel flavour to it. Very tasty. This tea gets a bit smokey as it cools though, not enough to turn me off, just enough to make it interesting.
Smokey, maybe 25% as smokey as a lapsong souchong, especially predominant on the first steep. I’m thinking smoked figs, as if such a thing exists. Nice cup of tea to muse over. Medium-bodied with nice balance of flavors. 2nd steep still flavorful, with the smoke diminishing to an undertone.
This is pretty good.
Just got this in an order from SpecialTeas and I’m really enjoying it. I taste a little chocolate, some maltiness and very slight smokiness. Great for my first cup of the day.
