Premium Keemun Hao Ya Black Tea

I was surprised, when I opened this up, to be greeted by a nice, smoky aroma. Smokiness is not really something I associate with Keemun, but I’m not complaining. I love smoky teas.

The flavor is more what I was expecting: Lovely and silky smooth. The hint of smoke that came with it just served to bring out the other flavors.

With very few exceptions, I think of black teas as morning teas, delicious but too strong to drink later in the day. This is one of the exceptions; it was nice to wake up to, but I think I preferred the second pot I’ve been sipping all afternoon. It’s too nice and mellow to be relegated to the morning.

(Sample provided gratis by TeaVivre for review.)

As with many other Steepsters, I’m playing catch-up, as I’ve been enjoying this tea for a while, but life has dragged me away from my tea writing for a bit. I’ve enjoyed this tea, but I think after comparing it to a Keemun ‘A’ grade I had before I had this sample of what is labeled as ‘premium’ that I prefer keemun a bit more toward the floral side, with less smoke.
Nonetheless, it’s very balanced and clean in the cup, great for nursing a soar throat if you’re drinking it by itself or pairing it with sweet/spicy foods.

A couple of pics of the dry leaf and added thoughts (including the tea wand I first used to infuse it with) are at my blog. http://bit.ly/JHFW00

Overall, a good quality keemun, but I will probably reach for my local shop’s ‘A’ for my regular cup simply because I like the orchid notes over the smoky notes.

(This is the GRADE 1).

I found this tea to be somewhat bitter. I steeped it only three minutes at just under boiling temperature. Its not a “bad” bitterness, though. It has a nice aroma that seems slightly perfumed, and a subtly smooth mouthfeel. Drinking from a black mug (since my white one broke!) brings out the dark reddish undertones in the liquid- very pretty. For me, this is a tea I might drink as a morning pick-me-up, perhaps because of the slight bitterness. It’s not one of my favorite teas, but definitely not one I’d want to discard. I need to drink it more in order to appreciate its qualities.

This is a major backlog as I have been SO stressed lately I can’t even handle it.

I still have a lot more left of this from the sample that Teavivre sent me (thanks again!), and so I’m going to have to re-drink this and write a review for it because I honestly don’t remember that much about it.

I remember it being pretty bold with a nice strong base (a little malty and grainy) and a fruity essence (very wine like, more savory fruit) that kind of grew up from it. It also had a nice smoky background to it that kind of lingered in the background.

It was pretty good but I’m going to re-review it with more detail.

I love tea in general, but l drink black tea most of the time. That’s why I ordered all Keemun that TeaVivre has – grades 2 & 1 and Premium.
When I opened all these I saw that they’re made in Mao Feng style and seem to be broken. Furthermore, Premium is just a slightly bit tippy than Grade 1, which I wasn’t expecting. In appearance they look almost the same, but in fragrance, well… that’s another story actually.

Brewing this Keemun might be disappointing if you ignore instructions (90C water), and go with boiling water, or just under boiling. Keemun doesn’t go bitter if you do so, but you will lose a great deal of aroma and taste. Other grades I ordered are fine with that BTW.

With its light body that goes bolder after swallowing this isn’t my usual early morning cuppa. I’m not up to breakfast tea for my morning either, so I try to find something between those two. I could sip on this throughout the day, though.
What I find out with this one is that its characteristics tend to shift a bit with different water. I usually brew tea with bottled water, and supermarkets don’t sell the one I like the most anymore… I hope I’m wrong. When I drank this tea with that particular water liquor was crisp and fragrant, with a nice smokey note. With this water I’m using now I still get all those characteristics, but only slightly diminished.

All in all, this is great tea that I drink on daily basis, I only regret that it’s water sensitive .

My very first keemun was Teavivre’s Keemun #1, and it is still one of my favorite teas. I have been looking forward to trying its “big brother”. I was curious because it seemed to be quite inexpensive compared to other Hao Ya teas I have recently tried.

This tea’s nose has much less smoke than #1, but there are hints of chocolate. It seems very refined and elegant, but less powerful than I would like. The taste is also a bit on the weak side, but pleasant; without a hint of bitterness.

The tea really comes into its own in the finish. It opens up and shows both power and complexity. There is still a lot of flavor a full minute after I swallow. This long finish seems to help the taste build up: each sip seemed stronger than the first, so that by the end of the cup, I can’t really complain about the lack of power.

I gave this pretty much the same rating as the Keemun #1 but they are very different teas. This one is more subtle but lacks the smoke and power that I’ve come to look for in Keemun teas.

So I got me some samples courtesy of Teavivre(with many thanks)and enjoyed it profoundly! I have had many varieties of Keemun tea all of which I found to be either lacking in balance or really just lacking in characters(possibly bad luck). This particular type of Keemun by Teavivre fits what most consider a true Keemun tea! Smoky, rich, alomost vlevety, piney with undertones of sweet and possibly flower character that goes great with a rich overtone.
The first brew at five minutes yielded a flavorful tea with much of the smoky, piney , and undertones associated with Keemun. Its not at all too smoky, nor too piney, does not go bitter when over brewed, and smooth of the palate without drying it out. The second brews and beyond have a less but still prominent character that yields a slighty tannin and slightly astringent taste towards the 4th and 5th steep. The tea itself can handle the usual milk and sugar but also a plain cuppa can be much of an experience and a good introduction into smoky teas! What a great tea this is!

I really, REALLY needed some caffeine, and this is the darkest tea I have. I actrually forgot about it for a few minutes, so I’m not sure how long I steeped it, but the results were fantastic. The color of the tea is a very deep red, bordering on black. The aroma was very strong, but it was hard to pin a specific scent to it. The tast of the frist cup was much better than I remember despite how strong it was. It’s a very nice black tea, but there really isn’t anything special about the taste.

I tried this tea today, and I was impressed. It has a nice balance smokiness and smoothness. It has a robust body, but is not bitter. It is one of the best Keemuns I have ever sampled. I generally prefer Mao Feng, but this is a strong rival. Kudos.

This is my first taste of tea by Teavivre. Samples of this and four other Teavivre varieties came in the mail yesterday all the way from China.

I have to say, I am blown away by the great complex flavors of this bold yet very gentle tea. It’s one of the best black teas I have ever tasted!

This premium tea has a wonderful woody and smoky taste that is fully realized, but not overpowering, after just three minutes of steeping at 194 degrees. I find that worthy of note because I usually have to brew black tea for five minutes at 212 degrees to wring a level of flavor strength from it that even approaches this fine gem from the East.

The rich flavors of this tea are very clear without any bitterness creeping onto your palate. The bright amber color foreshadows the outstanding tasting experience that awaits you.

I am excited to try another tea offering by Teavivre…TOMORROW!