China Keemun Mao Feng - ZK98

My tea of the morning.

I am now down to half a mug of coffee in the morning. My Hubby likes to gradually work on eliminating coffee in the summertime. A hot drink loses its appeal for him in hot weather. I have not really noticed that for me this year…I still prefer my tea hot. We are even contemplating giving up the coffee altogether as my beverage of choice is now consumed by tea. (His beverage of choice is beer, but I have a feeling that would not be good for morning consumption!) I guess we will have to see what happens in the Fall. A single cup coffee maker is starting to sound like a good idea!

Anyway, this is not the best Keemun Mao Feng in my cupboard, but it is good. It falls under a mid range for price, which makes it a good budget choice for me. It has all of the attributesof a good Keemun…slightly smokey, cocoa notes, roasty, and is a very good tea. 24 oz pot, 3 level perfect teaspoons (or 4 1/2 actual tsp.), freshly boiled water, 5 minute first steep. Second steep coming up for 7 minutes.

I am getting a variable electric kettle for my birthday (and an early tin of Harney’s Wild Wuyi) next month! So excited!

Tea of the afernoon….. I missed Keemun Mao Feng when I was on vacation! I am still undecided if I need two of these in larger than sample amounts in my cupboard. I love this one for value, but the other is my favorite. I think I will be going with the favorite after this one is gone. And I am sure to sample a few more just for fun.

I think I did oversteep this one (alas, the distractions of life!), but surprisingly, all that happened was a smokier, fuller flavor.

My morning tea of yesterday. Very good. Now that I am not drinking it in a side by side, I do think I could probably live with just this one! Resteap at 6 minutes is as good as the first. I must love this, because once my cup is empty, I stare at the bottom and always wish there was more…..

Tea on the go this afternoon…..

I think I might have used more tea than normal this time as I switched my infuser all ready to go from my teapot to my travel mug…. What resulted was a very rich cup! Yum. For later notes to self…..If your Keemun Mao Feng seems light, add a little more leaf!

Third cup of the day…..

I did pick up a sample of this one for comparison. I have not had it in my cupboard for over a year and wanted to have a more accurate view of this than just my memory. The memory is starting to go, you know. Also, sometimes experiencing tea has everything to do with your mood and surroundings at the time. If I were going from memory, the taste was just a little different than I am experiencing today. I won’t add those memories in, just because it would confuse the issue. This time around it is good, but just that. Cocoa notes are lighter than the others, and it is slightly smokier than all that I have recently tried. It is less sweet than the ZK67. In comparison to the Harney, it does have a similar light earthiness, but definitely less complex and rich, and the mouthfeel is thinner. I do get a similar astringency to the ZK91. Leaves are comparable to the ZK91 and ZK67, but they seem a little shorter. Overall, it is a smooth and wonderful tea, but I am spoiled by others. I am sure if I had not tasted the others, I would have been happy with this. Sometimes, too many choices is a bad thing. I am not sorry that I tried it again as it is the best value in a Keemun Mao Feng that I have tried.

Usual Mug method.

Afternoon pick me up. Check my other notes on this one if you are interested. I was glad I did a price comparison…because I now see this one has gone up in price just a little.

YUM! 5 minute steep. So rich tasting!

My morning tea… I have tons to do this morning, and I needed something to put me in the mood for getting things done. It is definitely working, but I think I need at least another cup to be sure….. ;)

My morning tea. Yes, I am a big fan of Keemun Mao Feng. This one is perhaps not my favorite, but it is still quite good, and well worth the price! If there ever was a bargain KMF, this is it!

I’m trying to restrain myself from placing a Harney order (new Chinese tea available! free shipping code! Discount code! I have a $5 points thingum! wait – that’s encouraging me – slap my hand!) so I am having another Keemun which Lady Londonderry gave me a very generous sample of (so sheesh! I can certainly hold out a little longer because you KNOW what is going to happen. The minute I place my order some more Harney Chinese teas are going to come out and I’m going to to be mad at myself).

Ahem! You’ve had enough of my internal monologue – let me talk about the tea!

I went heavy on the leaf, and got a really nice cocoa-y, satisfying cup. Rich and delicious.

THEN I gilded the lily! I took Harney’s Chocolate Mint which Ashmanra sent to me into work because I wanted to taste it sans additions. I added a scant teaspoon to the Keemun Mao Feng leaves and had two more steeps of such a treat! The cocoa notes from the Keemun paired with the chocolate and mint was exhilarating! I definitely prefer the Chocolate Mint sans additions. This is so refreshing and chocolatey and Mmmmmm!

Thank you so much Lady Londonderry & Ashmanra! You both helped me keep a sound mind and pocketbook today, whilst having a delicious and decadent tea day!

I tried the blending trick with the China Black again this afternoon, and the results were again delicious. The steep time is a little tricky, since the China Black is supposed to steep for 3 minutes and the Mao Feng can soak for up to 8. I settled somewhere around 5 minutes. I used a bit more of the Mao Feng this time; perhaps I am (very) slowly building up a tolerance for smokiness!

I was struck this time by the mouthwatering aroma of the dry leaves. I stuck my nose into the bag and inhaled deeply, and felt compelled to do it again and again. The scent reminds me of chocolate licorice (those brown Twizzlers that are sold in the disappointingly smaller bag than the other flavors).

I think I am going to make up a little bag of my special blend and take it to work with me so I can enjoy it any afternoon I choose.

I love starting my day with a cup of this wonderful tea. I am always generous with steep times which borders between 6 and 8 minutes. The result as always is splendid. There are dark fruit notes with a touch of smoke. Rich, invigorating and flavorful. All in all this is a very nice tea. I am now deciding on a Darjeeling order from Upton. Lately my fellow Steepsterites have made me very thirsty for some….

This is a tea that I could easily drink everyday and never lose interest. I allow a longer steep with this and the result is magnificent. See my previous notes….

This is my first cup today. I was very generous with the leaf amount and the steep time. I brewed it basket-style and today it is superb. Hints of cocoa and fresh baked bread with an aroma that is superb. Maybe another reason it has improved dramatically is the water quality now that I have the PUR water filter. All of the tweaking paid off with a tremendous cup of Mao Feng. I must up the score….