I am trying this today – my experience with Keemuns has been a bit “meh” but I’ve read so many good things about this one.
I swear the dry leaves smelled like a Merlot wine and are very slender and beautiful looking. I tried to not overdo it with the leaf here. I eyeballed it but measured out about 1 tsp for my 10 oz mug.
Success! I liked this one. The results are quite delightful!
The tea liquor is a medium reddish brown and has a lovely cocoa fragrance. I’m picking up some hints of malt and the aftertaste is surprisingly floral, almost like a second flush darjeeling (but sweeter). I am not getting much smokiness, perhaps just a touch . But it may be my tastebuds are burnt out from that Russian caravan I had a little while ago.
I might even be braver and go for a slightly longer steep next time, but it ended up being very nice the way I prepared it. No need for sugar or soymilk at all, this is a great one to sip on plain. Smooth and without much astringency. I’m glad I but the bullet and went for it! So good!
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I’ve had a couple Keemuns with wine-like characteristics, also with a berry sweetness- although I’m not refering to this one, as I haven’t tried it yet. FYI, Upton’s calls for a longer steep:
@ Scott, I don’t think I’ve tried that one either, it does look similar if not the same.
Amy, the tea I’m referring to is a Congou, which is not classified as a keemun (oops), It is now sold out:
The only Keemun I’ve every tried is H&S’s English Breakfast, which is adequate but hasn’t impressed me. I bought it on the recommendation of the tea buyer at my local shop — she may not have had any of the Keemun Mao Feng in stock. I will definitely try to get a sample of this.
Upton’s ZK98, as Scott mentioned, is a great tea, at a great price.
Amy-Did you happen to get any Premium Keemun Hao Ya in your Teavivre sample pack? It’s wonderful.
@ScottB- I did get that one and never found a way to really love it. I think I reviewed it a while back.
Oh, well, that’s the way it goes sometimes.
I’ve had a couple Keemuns with wine-like characteristics, also with a berry sweetness- although I’m not refering to this one, as I haven’t tried it yet. FYI, Upton’s calls for a longer steep:
http://www.uptontea.com/shopcart/item.asp?itemID=ZK98&similarto=ZK55&UTid=545-20-7502023&afterCart=/shopcart/item.asp&from=catalog.asp&review=expand&begin=0&parent=Teas%3EBlack%3EChina&category=Other+Congou&sortMethod=0&categoryID=13
@ Scott, I don’t think I’ve tried that one either, it does look similar if not the same.
Amy, the tea I’m referring to is a Congou, which is not classified as a keemun (oops), It is now sold out:
https://secure.uptontea.com/shopcart/item.asp?itemID=ZP20
The only Keemun I’ve every tried is H&S’s English Breakfast, which is adequate but hasn’t impressed me. I bought it on the recommendation of the tea buyer at my local shop — she may not have had any of the Keemun Mao Feng in stock. I will definitely try to get a sample of this.
Upton’s ZK98, as Scott mentioned, is a great tea, at a great price.
Amy-Did you happen to get any Premium Keemun Hao Ya in your Teavivre sample pack? It’s wonderful.
@ScottB- I did get that one and never found a way to really love it. I think I reviewed it a while back.
Oh, well, that’s the way it goes sometimes.