Capital of Heaven Keemun Black Tea

Another Keemun, & this one is pleasant too. It’s hard to say, but I think my preference in Keemuns, so far, is:
Teavivre – organic superfine fragrant keemun
London Tea Room – Keemun Mao Feng
Teavana – Capital of Heaven
All 3 are pleasant. This one is a little more astringent the LTR’s, I think.
I really need to place an order from Teavivre & get more of their’s…soon…

This one is waaay better than the sorta-pineapple thing from the other day.

I spent a while looking through the Teavana booklet, and while I’m really not happy about many of the things that have resulted from the takeover, I am pleased with their selection of straight blacks. I do think I will have to try them all, especially the first flush Darjeeling they have right now. I have wanted to try a FF Darjeeling forever; even if it’s not the best one in the world, it’s something I can walk in and buy rather than order online, and I think it’s almost a good thing to start with a baseline of “not as good” tea so that you really appreciate the good stuff when you drink it.

This one is very, very pleasant. It’s the first Keemun I’ve ever tried, so I have little to compare it to, but I like it. It’s not as dark as I was hoping; it’s maybe mid-way between a Ceylon and an Assam. It’s a wee bit floral and a wee bit smokey, but it takes to some sugar very well nevertheless. A decent breakfast tea if you don’t need too much of a kick in the pants, but the floral notes might be strange first thing in the morning. It might be a better cup in the evening.

Also, I talked to the SA who poured my Keemun about the pricing issue. He’s certain they are not using the American prices, and when I watched him pour exactly 50g (he did try to over-pour me six grams – on one of the more expensive teas? – but he did ask me, and I did refuse it), the price matched the price in the booklet and on the wall. The quantity on the receipt was strange though, 1.76, which he said is a result of their prices being adjusted from American prices. So it appears I was over-poured by 23g last time after all.

I will be watching those pours super-closely from now on.

Another sample from my swap with terri.

While this is not my favourite keemun to date, this is a lovely cup of tea. There’s a bit of astringency here that isn’t my fav but it’s not overwhelming and certainly doesn’t ruin the cup. Glad to have tried this one..i will try all the teas someday.

This is one of my favorites. I’ve been searching for a replacement keemun because I feel this one is a little overpriced. But it’s so good! Dry leaf smells like pipe tobacco. It has a very thick mouthfeel. Notes of red wine. This has very complex flavors, I taste something different every time I drink it. I’ll be tasting this tea all day as I go about my business.

I’m a Keemun tea newbie but I really enjoyed the only other sample that I had of this Chinese tea. I was therefore excited to experience Teavana’s take on Keemun.

After steeping this tea for three minutes at 195 degrees, a rich golden brew was produced. The aroma was rather earthy like peat moss.

The taste of this nice blend is earthy, woodsy, smokey, and slightly spicy. I did notice a tad of astringency with my first cup, but nothing to keep me from drinking this tea on a regular basis. Perhaps brewing for two minutes (instead of three) would have reduced or eliminated this minor grumble.

Of the two Keemum teas that I have tried so far, I prefer Teavivre’s
Premium Keemun Hao Ya black tea selection. To me, that tea has a bolder, richer, and more complex flavor. However, if I were stranded on a desert island with no tea except Teavana’s Capital of Heaven Keemun black tea, I’m sure Wilson and I would still consider ourselves quite blessed.

The leaf appearance is jet black, with a high gloss, a sign of a very high grade Hao ya Keemun. I see very little twig debris here. The leaves were whole, and even in size, and the leaves appeared to a light brownish red after brewing. A wonderfully toasty nose, fruity notes and a subtle, playful pine smell. The tea itself is a reddish brown, very bright and luster-y. This tea was very full bodied, with a complex taste incorporating a bit of a fruity, smokey, sweet flavour. I store mine in a wooden container, which gives the tea a woody aftertaste.

I got a cup of this at Teavana today while picking up a Christmas gift for a work friend. Yikes, a brewed cup was expensive—$5! But I wanted to try it, and it’s only money. I’m glad I did try it. It is delicious. Earthy, and a tad smoky, I want more. Badly. I might have to give in and buy a couple of ounces for myself. It never ceases to amaze me the differences in tea. How different varieties can be so different. I must get myself more of this tea!

Made this in the Keurig this morning since I was in a hurry. This tea has an earthy, woodsy flavor, almost like it was aged in a wood barrel. Otherwise, it has a strong keemun taste sets it apart from other black teas.

This is a decent tea. Nothing special. Tastes like Keemun traditionally tastes-though a bit weaker. However, there is no bitterness at all. I get two satisfying steeps out of it. I would note that the liquor was lighter than the stock photo-more like a darker first flush darjeeling. I bought it during a free shipping special. I’ll probably buy it again some time-but only during another free shipping promo. I’ll be checking out other Keemuns in the meantime.

This is a very smooth, very high quality Keemun. Very straight forward, exactly what you expect from a quality Keemun… nutty, earthy, and it’s also pretty good iced. I started off with a hot cup in the morning and iced what was left at the end of the day. Enjoyed the entire day of sipping! :) Keemun isn’t my favorite variety of black tea, but I appreciate one with this kind of quality.

This is truly a superb tea. It can be infused twice and the character actually deepens with the second cup. Its deeper, yet less cautious taste.

Every sip takes you a few steps up the stairway.

My friend got some of this tea and brought it over to make a cup with me after christmas. The smell of the dried leaves is musky and rich, and also very strong. There are some gold tips in the tea, always a good sign. We steeped it for a little over 3 minutes (1 teaspoon per 8 oz) with just boiled water, and were both taken aback by how good this tea is. The flavor is so rich that I couldn’t help making two pots of it. It’s earthy and strong, and also wakes you right up. Very solid tea

I don’t usually drink black tea, but this one is my favorite. The taste resembles honey (and I LOVE honey) and isn’t too sweet.

Not too hot on this one, glad I got it on sale at Tea Dystopia, I mean Vana… Teavana. Yeah. Because the sales staff just radiate happiness… I digress.

This tea smelled really nice (like honey) and the dry leaves look to be of good quality – long jet black twisted needles – but no matter how I brew this tea it turns out less than my expectations. I even gaiwaned it a few times to make sure I wasn’t missing anything… No fireworks here. Fairly generic black tea with a mild honey-like sweetness and tannin astringency. The flavors and body are’t particularly strong and any attempt to beef up the steep time is met with increasingly astringent bitterness, much like an old ex-girlfriend of mine. Hmmm…

Maybe Keemuns aren’t my thing or maybe I’ve been spoiled by really nice teas. Strong possibility there. I often wonder if I am biased, but when really thinking about it, really run the situation through my head, I am confident in a blind taste test of black teas, Teavana’s Keemun would fail to impress beyond “meh”.

Not bad, not good but certainly over priced for what you get. Dedicated to ice tea blends until its gone.

I thought it was slightly smokey, full bodied and malty. Great anytime black tea!

Exactly what I expect a Keemun to taste like. Lots of woody and earthy flavors. Maybe a little more mild than the average Keemun, but that’s a good thing. It was surprising good iced. The only thing not to like about it is the price. While I enjoy this tea, there are other unflavored black teas I like just as much for less money.