Lion Mountain Keemun

I got this today on my way to the dentist this morning. I did like it at first, seemed smooth and rich with a slightly floral and piney flavor. As the cup cooled off, all the bitter and tobacco type notes came out… then it was definitely less enjoyable. At one point I accidentally choked on it and spit it out all over my raincoat. I’ll need to try this again someday.

Friends I was with stopped at Peet’s after lunch today. I wanted to try this Keemun and took the opportunity. The person preparing it for you puts the leaves into a T-Sac and adds the hot water and hands it to you, telling you to remove the leaves after 5 minutes. Ha! I thought to myself. I steep most if not all black teas no more than 3 minutes to avoid bitterness, if a tea is to have any. So I removed the T-Sac after about 3. The brew has a mild version of the “keemun” flavoring, the hint of smokiness and pine, but is not very distinct. I found this to be an ok tea but I’m not sure I’d ever spend the money for a can of this tea. If you like the “keemun” flavoring like I do, there are some fantastic Keemuns out there.

KLM is certainly one of the better teas available through Peets. The leaves have a very pleasant aroma, slightly smoky aroma — reminiscent of a church sanctuary infused with years of liturgical incense. The first steeping is a little harsher than ideal for my taste, needing a touch of honey to counterbalance it. The second steeping is much mellower and pleasant to drink straight.

I really don’t understand why this has such a low rating? It is a great quality Keemun. Maybe many of the people on here had it improperly made at the store or something. .. I bought the tin and it is now my favorite breakfast tea! Give it another try people!

I picked up a tin of this tea when I was in San Diego for the weekend a month ago. I grew up in California (and think it’s just about the best place in the world) but hadn’t been back for six(!) years prior to this little jaunt, and of the many, many foodie delights I miss Peet’s Jasmine Lime Cooler comes out pretty high on the list. So, being back in the land of Peet’s, picking one up was pretty high on my list of things to do. And I did. And it was just as wonderful—just as refreshing and sweet and tart and floral—as I remembered.

But this isn’t a review of the Jasmine Lime Cooler. This is, alas, a review of something much less exciting. The tea is smooth and sweet, although I can’t say I’m getting any of the plum mentioned in the official description. The sweetness I’m picking up on is more of the chocolate variety, which, as everyone probably knows by now, is not my most favorite of flavors to encounter in an unflavored black tea. This tea is also lighter on the smoke than I’d expected (and almost nonexistent on the pine), and it doesn’t have that rich red wine quality I’ve gotten with other Keemuns. It makes for a pleasant, if not especially memorable, cup, and I can see it making a nice, gentle introduction to Keemuns for those not inclined toward the bolder stuff.

Note: This tea spent five years aging in the tin prior to this post.

I found this to be an especially nice black tea. It blends the smoke of a Lapsang (though obviously much less intense) with a woodsy tobacco sort of flavor – so, it’s a Keemun. If you’re not into smoky woodsy teas, this might well be your least favorite black tea aside from Lapsang Souchong – but if you are, this is pretty good.

A Keemun will generally take being left on the shelf for years pretty well, so in my case the unintentional five year aging served to dramatically mellow out the bite, bringing it down to almost pu-erh levels of not-bitter. I found that to compliment the flavor pretty well – so while I wouldn’t necessarily recommend five years… this is one you can give a few of aging for a mellower profile, and it certainly holds up fine if you’re slow to finish the tin.

I can’t rate it especially highly because it didn’t wow me, but it’s definitely good, and I wouldn’t turn it down. I tend to spoil my palate with super-fancy teas, and I can see this blowing some minds if one is new to loose-leaf brewed right.

This tea, although an Orange Pekoe, (The tea type that ruled western brewers for a very long time, who also made it terribly) Lion Mountain Keemun can be made anew! Since it is a small leaf bud-set tea, only 1 teaspoon is needed per 6 ounces of water. 1 steep is all that can be done to ensure the best flavor though. so double the amount of tea and water when you brew. Rinse, then infuse all of the tea,after 3 minutes, pour 6 oz out, then after 5 minutes, poor the rest out. This ensures the best from this black tea!

I just don’t like smoky pine tasting teas; even though this is mellower that Lapsang Souchong, it still just isn’t my cup of tea.