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“Tea of the morning….. This one is very good, but it is on its way out of my cupboard. I have quantities of other great black teas, and this one is down to about an ounce. In doing the math, it is...” Read full tasting note
“The dry leaves have rich aroma; they are longer and more curly than previous Keemuns I have tasted. Less nose than I expected, which was a bit disappointing, but the flavor is very big, with...” Read full tasting note
“The thing I love about the decidedly utilitarian Upton Tea site more than some of those glitzy tea sites that show beautiful color pictures of happy workers picking tea in lush China tea farms, is...” Read full tasting note
“I kept a tsp of this back from the Educational TTB2 and am finally getting around to trying it. The only other Keemun I can remember trying is Teavivre’s Organic Superfine Fragrant Keemun. This...” Read full tasting note
This is a new production of this fine Congou from An Hui province. The deep-black leaves produce a liquor with medium body and complex, rich flavor with a hint of nutmeg. The finish is clean, with a smooth sweetness. New lot with bolder leaf.
Origin:
China
Company description not available.
Tea of the morning…..
This one is very good, but it is on its way out of my cupboard. I have quantities of other great black teas, and this one is down to about an ounce. In doing the math, it is about $3.85 per ounce currently. That makes it just a little more than my favorite KMF.
This one is not smokey, though. For those of you who like a black tea low in smoke, this is for you. For me, though, I think I like the complexity that the slight smoke adds. I know there will be another time when I explore the black teas at Upton, but I have to drink some of my 2 or so years worth of black tea in the recesses of my stash first!
Usual teapot method.
The dry leaves have rich aroma; they are longer and more curly than previous Keemuns I have tasted. Less nose than I expected, which was a bit disappointing, but the flavor is very big, with chocolate overtones and lots of complexity. Very smooth and well-integrated. The taste flows smoothly into the long, slightly tannic finish. I really liked this tea.
The thing I love about the decidedly utilitarian Upton Tea site more than some of those glitzy tea sites that show beautiful color pictures of happy workers picking tea in lush China tea farms, is that a devotee of a certain type of tea can choose among an array of estates, grades, or types, while many of the eye-candy sites offer one Darjeeling, one Assam, one Ceylon.
The downside of Upton is it is often daunting to make a choice from the 15 or so Keemuns available, many of which are labeled some variation of Keemun Mao Feng. Luckily there is the 15 gram sample—so I decided to do some comparison shopping.
The “superior” is a medium-bodied Keemun with a smooth red wine flavor up front, a cherry tobacco and leather finish, and a hint of cotton-candy sweetness. As it cools it reminds me of cinnamon raisin bread.
A refined and elegant tea. Next up: Another Keemun Mao Feng, minus the “superior.”
I got their catalog recently but I just don’t need any more teas right now! ;)
It’s never about need! I can’t help myself when the new Senchas darjeelings and Assams roll in, even though I’m drowning in tea.
I know what you mean. I did get some darjeelings from Happy Earth Tea myself!
I get lost on their site. I ordered more than once from them. Like I was going thru phases of Assam, Darjeeling , Keemun . Haven’t finished all the sampling :(
I kept a tsp of this back from the Educational TTB2 and am finally getting around to trying it. The only other Keemun I can remember trying is Teavivre’s Organic Superfine Fragrant Keemun. This is waaay different, and I have to say that I prefer the Teavivre one. I’m not getting any of the chocolate notes I got with that one, although the earthiness is comparable. I am, however, getting full on mushroom from this tea. I’ve never had a tea with mushroom notes, but I actually kinda like it. Also, thankfully the smoke beast is absent.
Disclaimer about this note: This tea may have been brewed weird. I don’t know the temperature of the water because when I went to make it, I discovered that my kettle that I keep at work was gone. Not cool. I kept it in the common area for everyone to use and now it’s missing. THIS IS WHY WE CAN’T HAVE NICE THINGS. Anyway, so the water temp may have been off so I won’t rate it.
Nooooo
Wow, definitely not cool. I hope someone returns it soon!
Shitty human behaviour!
I’d leave a note where the kettle was and ask for its immediate return, no questions asked. That usually gets things replaced at my office quickly.
So, I found the kettle like this: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByLDTxpzm4N2a2VzYlRra2t0WFY5YkN4dnRfcjdvTExRM25j/edit?usp=sharing
hidden way in the back of one of the cabinets (it has always just lived on the counter before).
The label is correct, it is broken :(
If whoever it was had just told me, I would have understood. Things happen! But hiding it is just kinda offensive.
I’m so sorry. I would hide the kettle from now on.
:( I’m glad you found it, but I’m really sorry that it’s broken. I agree with boychik – if you get a new kettle, hide it.
MzPriss’ Unflavored Tea Box – Tea #7
Another nice keemun! Again, not really smoky… I could swear keemun is supposed to be a little smoky but it seems none of them are. I love the scent of dry keemun leaves. The flavor is on a mid level – tangy again. It seems only keemun have this tangy flavor I’m talking about. I wish I could describe it better. It was almost like the Andrews & Dunham Spring Keemun I had a few days ago. I also had this tea a couple days ago, which is why my note is more terrible than usual. Whoops. Not a bad two steeps (the second cup was similar) but I’d prefer my keemun darker.
I’m still looking for my perfect keemun.
I have seen both of you sampling Keenums. What are your favorites? The Pine Peak for WP just peaked my curiosity enough to start exploring. (as if I need another type of tea to explore).
I’m afraid to even try that one. I already have a WP problem
I wanted to love that A&D one and I just didn’t. I tried.
I feel like I haven’t tried my perfect keemun yet (though I’ve heard great things about the WP keemun and that one would probably be it). Butiki once had a couple nice ones which I don’t think they have any more (which might be why I can’t find my favorite keemun now – Butiki’s high standards). I suggest trying the four from Teavivre and finding which one you like more. I just bought some of the Grade 1 and actually had some today… I think the Grade 1 is my favorite at the moment. Also, Zentealife.com’s China Keemun is good and I think they have a new one. I’m probably forgetting some!
TeaSipper/MzPriss If you guys need a sample of WP let me know I can pass a cup or two along. Teas from Zen Tea are stacking up on my wish list so I might have to order a sample of theirs soon, same with Teavivre. I don’t remember seeing anything on Butiki’s sight but I will have to take a closer look. Thanks TeaSipper.
Thanks Tiff. I may have done a small little WP order last night and included the PPK in it :)
Not all Keemuns are smoky, and they’re not smoky to everybody. It’s a naturally occuring note, so it’s quite subjective. To me it’s sometimes smoky but also sometimes floral. I believe that this is actually the very same note that just comes across differently to me. I’ve found that for me higher grade Keemuns are usually more on the floral end of the spectrum, while lower grade Keemuns are more on the smoky end. I tend to prefer the lower grades. :)
