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.

Here’s Hoping TTB (round 5)

I went into this without reading about it, which I should have done. With no idea that keemun may have smoked flavors to it, I was caught off guard by this tea. The few keemun teas I have had were either malty or semi bitter with a strong black tea taste (which differs for everyone). I’m not sure if I like the notes of smoke in this since they kind of sit there mildy. I may have to come back to this sometime since I am currently not a fan of smoked teas, I’m trying to be though.

This was my morning brew for this muggy day. While I was brewing up a cup of these small black and gold curls the aroma of smoke and dark wood escaped from my tea press. The liquor was a light translucent garnet colour. The taste was perfect for a grey day. The initial sip was a light and fruity flavor with an oak undertone. This soft and flavorful brew went well with breakfast. This was a nice calm black tea, and it still had the high caffeine to get me going.