Keemun Black Tea – Grade 2

I really, really love Teavivre’s Keemuns.

For the sake of transparency, I’m technically drinking a Keemun Grade 1.5 tonight, as it was a mix of remaining samples. But I like 2 better, so that’s where it’s getting logged. Nyah nyah nyah.

I drink this, and it pretty much cements in my mind that there’s no real need for Lapsang Souchong in my life. This keemun is rich and smokey, absolutely deliciously so, but without that really heavy smokey pine flavor. Which, all being said isn’t that bad (at least not Teavivre’s version), but is nowhere near as pleasurable as the just slightly smokey flavor of the Keemuns.

Missy’s awesome, she’s letting me finish off the pot because I like this so much. I’m totally drinking more than my fair share on this one… nummy nummy.

Tea of the morning……

Wow. I am the first to log this one! Since I am a lover of all types of Keemun, I had to give this a try. Since I purchased this one, I requested a sample of Grade 1 Keemun from Teavivre, so it will be fun to compare all three grades of Keemun available from them. I hope I am up to it!

I would say it is slightly smokier tasting (this, of course does not mean it is a smokey tea…) than the Keemun variety I usually drink for breakfast. It also has just a hint of astringency at the end of the taste. In general, that makes this one just a little bolder than I am used to. Since I drink Keemun for a breakfast tea, it is not really a problem, though. I need a little bit of a kick start some mornings. After a few more tastings, I will know if this one will work for me in the long run. The one I liked best was somewhere between this one and the Harney English Breakfast. I think I might try a shorter steep next time or a little less leaf to see if that will improve the flavor for my specific taste. I am sure I will drink it all!

Usual mug method.

Here’s my 2nd Keemun of the day, & based on previous experience with Keemun teas, this is actually more like what I expect a Keemun to taste like. It’s earth, leather, smoke, a little plum tartness., & a touch of brown sugar. It’s like the library of some pipe smoking english gentleman. There’s a little bit of a bite, & then a lingering satisfaction.

Thanks again to Teavivre for this sample, & this is my 2nd sipdown of the day, leaving me with 327 teas in my cupboard!

I’m going to try and get to my Teavivre Keemuns today. In order of price per 100g this one is at cheapest and so far, my least favourite :) This is a sort of malty, kind of astringent brew. It’s not a bad tea, but if i only had to have ONE keemun in my cupboard, it wouldn’t be this one. There’s a hint of smokiness hanging out in the background, but nothing that anyone who didn’t like smoke, should have a problem with.

I may edit this later as i use the other half of my sample pack to compare against at least one other version from teavivre.

Edit: i think this one is actually more smoky than i imagine it to be because i’ve gotten used to that level of smoke in my tea and love it, especially with maple.

(also sipdown 4 for today)

Backlogging, and based almost entirely on my notes

Experience buying from Teavivre http://steepster.com/places/2857-teavivre-online—

Date of Purchase/Date of Steeping: Received in the fall of 2011 as a free sample (Thank you Angel!), steeped up March 2012.

Appearance and Aroma of dry leaf: Standard keemun leathery-type smell; the tiny somewhat-broken leaves are a uniform dark brown color.

Brewing guidelines: Glass Bodum pot leaf free to roam; stevia added; standard Chinese red tea steeping times and temperatures; four steepings.

Color and Aroma of tea liquor: Clear, light-copper color, with a mild aroma.

Flavor of tea liquor: A little bitter on the first steeping, but it has that characteristic keemun leathery-type taste that I have come to appreciate; second steeping was smooth (so no bitterness) and tasty; third was still flavorful; forth was mild, but still smooth and flavorful.

Appearance of wet leaf: Lots of tiny pieces of tea, such that it looked like large coffee grounds.

Value: This is where this tea really stands out: it’s a great value. I’m a bargain hunter, and I don’t think I could find a decent keemun anywhere better than this price: under $2/OZ.

Overall: I’ve finally got some time to do some backlogging (I don’t like having unfinished business sitting around); I hope to knock out most (if not all) of the teas I have written notes for in the next week or so.

I liked this tea, but my wife didn’t; I think the leathery taste is too weird for her, but that’s exactly why I like keemuns! If you appreciate value, and you like keemun, look no further: this is clearly a tea worth taking a chance on!

I’m thinking Teavivre is going to be a company Dylan and I patronize for some time. I’m really impressed with the quality of their tea and their customer acquisition plan. Dylan has informed me we are drinking the lowest grade of Keemun they currently sell. This stuff is just awesome! I love it.

It had a medium bodied malt that mellowed out that tea sharpness. I’m not sure how to describe the sharpness. It’s a bite that is pleasant. Basically just makes sure you know you are indeed drinking tea. The smokey flavor takes over and blends with a sweetness that is just divine. I could drink this all day long.

Thanks to Angel at Teavivre for the generous sample!

I chose this one because I like black teas and I’m always looking for more options – I don’t think I’ve had a Keeemun before, unless it was from DavidsTea.

I steeped this for 3 minutes and the result is a golden amber liquor that smells lightly of honey and smoke. It’s quite tantalizing. I’m getting fruit and a hint of smoke with each sip too. It’s really enjoyable, and I’m looking forward to resteeping it!

I don’t know why I hesitated to write a note about this one… I’ve done Grade 1 and Hao Ya, but I seem to forgot about this one. Oh well, better write it now while I’m in mood for it.

This is the cheapest Keemun you can get from TeaVivre. I guess I didn’t really want to buy it, but I felt the urge to get it just to feel how far are they from each other.
Dry leaf is unevenly rolled when compared to other grades and even having some red hue to it.
I find this tea to be few steps from my taste area for breakfast tea. It’s light in taste so I could blend it with Ceylon. On other hand, some finer notes come up when steeped with boiling water and 5-minute sit. It has a somewhat coffee background, only lacking in character, with cocoa and dimmed vegetal notes and even hint of coconut with splash of milk.
Pleasant cuppa, only lacking in character. And when I think about it, it reminds me of Prince of Wales.

Sample purchased by self. I used my own parameters for the evaluation. Brewed in a porcelain gaiwan, drank from a white porcelain cup. Steeping times: 20 seconds, 10, 20, 30; 1 minute, 2, 6.

I pretty much only pick out a tannic aroma from the dry leaf, which consists of small and short leaves, many broken. The dry leaf aroma changes and becomes more complex after I let the leaf rest in the heated gaiwan, which brings out a light chocolate note and strong purple raisins note. The wet leaf aroma returns to tannins but also equally smells of molasses.

The liquor is dark orange and clear. Overall, this is a brisk, strong-bodied keemun. It doesn’t undergo evolution during the session. Although I read that this keemum would better suit Western-style brewing, I wanted to see how it would brew in the a gongfu session. The first four infusions not only taste brisk, but have the typical keemun thick sweetness of molasses and honey. The tannins rest on the tongue, while the sweetness sticks to the back of the throat. The aftertaste is also sweet but short.

One can easily finish the session with the fourth infusion. Beginning with the fifth, the strength of the tannins declines, although the sweetness remains. This keemun is done by the sixth and seventh infusions, in which a smokiness replaces everything.

Keemun Grade 2 makes an easy-going breakfast tea. Good quality for the grade.

I like Keemuns and have been always confused by many kinds and names Hao Ya, Mao Feng… I decided to go through all Teavivre Keemuns (and a couple from other companies) to find the one that would become my go-to Keemun. And the package with them finally came today.

The Grade 2 Keemun… I ordered it with hesitation since I usually skip the cheapest options. And boy, was I surprised and rewarded. Robust is the word for this tea. It has the robust aroma and appearance and the taste to match. Malt, roast, leather, spices, and some berry-like sweetness. And the taste is not shy: it strong, persistent and stays for multiple gaiwan infusions. It is by no means refined but its major components come together very well. There is nothing second-grade about this tea.

This is certainly a tea for cold days, for times when you need a beam of energy, the tea that would go well with greasy food and take milk and sugar well. The Clydesdale of teas. I would keep it instead of personally disliked Assams.

All in all, a great find. Really curious to discover what other Keemuns from Teavivre are like.

P.S. Short steepings are key with this Keemun to keep the taste more complex.