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“I found this tea to be rather smoky—reminiscent even of Lapsang Souchong. Or perhaps closer to Russian Caravan? It was okay. Not so imperial to me.” Read full tasting note
“Okay, so I have a bunch of teas, old favorites and new discoveries alike, that I didn’t log in the past five days or so, but I’ll just add tasting notes for the new teas that I tried. I pulled this...” Read full tasting note
“Everything you want in a good red tea. Subtle flavors, nice aromas, good mouth feel and great energy.” Read full tasting note
“(1st steep: 4 min) My first thought with this tea is that it is a subtler Lapsang Souchong. There is a definite smokey armoa and flavor to it, but not as strong as I have come to expect from...” Read full tasting note
The Burgundy of tea, Keemun is considered by many to be the finest black tea produced in China. Grown in the Huangshan mountain range, this black tea is soft and approachable while incredibly complex: a marriage of floral, fruity, smoky, and mineral flavors.
Anhui, China
Company description not available.
This is from the Feburary 2014 Steepster Select Box.
This is my first Keemun so I have no idea what I should be tasting. I have had one other tea that I would describe as “smokey” and it hit you in the first part of the sip, almost like breathing in smoke. This was more of a smokey flavor as it settled in your tongue. I would describe this as smokey/woody flavor. I really enjoyed this.
2nd sample from the steepster select box. Never had a Keemun before, so I lack the knowledge of what I should be looking for.
Didn’t really care for this one all too much. I found that towards the end, it was getting rather bitter, and the smokey wood taste was starting to get to me. I’ m not a big fan of smokey tea (Lapsang Souchong…blecchhhhkkk). Not sure if it was just this Keemun that was smokey, but if they are all like that, I’m definitely gonna have to pass
This looks like coffee when brewed, the liquor is a dark brown color. The scent is smoky chocolate and so is the flavor! This is really good. It has a tiny tiny hint of pine in the finish and gives a bit of tannin.
The smoke gives essences of wood burning but it’s subtle. There is cream in the scent but not in the flavor. As it cools, a sweetness is coming thru like a blackstrap molasses. Very interesting procession of flavors, I liked it!
From the Steepster Select box, February 2014
Flavors: Chocolate, Wood
I suddenly need a Nat Sherman.
LOL
Haha! Good one.
Nat Sherman is not a bad choice my friend, but I would prefer a Padron Landes or
a Montecristo Torpedo (the Cuban version might over power it a tad though)
The Padron would truly enhance the cacao IMHO ;-)
Londres…not Landes…I haven’t quite figured out how to correct my errors on this page…lol…
Ha, thanks for the pairing ideas. Will have to investigate.
The Montecito is the most primo.
But, regardless of what you may read regarding the Padron not being
well put together, it burns well and has an excellent, consistent flavor
stick to stick. It is also quite an economical smoke. The last hand rolled
I had with a difficult draw was an H Upmann…FAR MORE expensive.
Very different cigars.
Uggh…I think my auto correct is changing my spellings :-(
Montecristo
This tea arrived yesterday in the Steepster Select box, conveniently in time to be part of my Qimen Quandery for today :)
I followed the steeping suggestions of 4 min. I’d say there was roughly 1.5 tsp in the packet.
The cup is rich, sweet, & earthy, with a light smokiness. It’s also somewhat bitter & kind of tart, like the peels of red grapes. As it cooled, the taste of Cacao nibs became more noticeable. That was the first steeping. I suspect it would be really wonderful with a little maple syrup added, but I already drank the whole cup, so obviously the bitter edge didn’t bother me too much. The re-steep is nice enough as well.
When I steep the 2nd serving, I’ll probably play around with the steep time a bit, maybe going for 3 minutes instead of 4.
2/20/14 Steepster Select tea, prepared as per the packet instructions,
1 packet/10/212F/4min.
A very enjoyable tea, but again, one that I haven’t enough experience with to describe well. The first steep ran a touch bitter, so I brewed the second with 12oz water, and that smoothed it out nicely.
I like getting to try teas out of my normal range!
