Qimen Hong Gong Fu

I am not a big fan of Qimen/Keemun black tea, but out of the few I’ve tried this is my favourite. Rich velvety texture, deep pungent black tea base, and the floral, smoky, and spice notes combine well. The main characteristic I like most about it is the deep pungent flavour (and I mean this in the best way possible), but I know this is not something everyone enjoys.

To finish off the last of my 50g purchase, I brewed it with short steeps. Given the appearance of the leaves I was pleased with how rich and complex Qimen stays throughout all the steeps. Usually I do not have such excellent results with broken leaf.

Not sure if I would recommend this if you are looking to get into Qimen, (as there are much cheaper options out there), but I found this to be a wonderful experience.

100ml gaiwan, 2 tsp, 6 steeps (rinse, 30s, +10s resteeps)

Q is for… Qimen Hong Gong Fu!

…and, as the name would imply, I brewed this one Gongfu!

I didn’t take great notes for this one because I had it while at the studio over my lunch break and I was a bit rushed – but I enjoyed it a lot and was impressed by how many infusions the leaf seemed able to take. Definitely a longer session than most Qimen I’ve had in recent memory. It was super smokey (but in a natural way, not a “smoked tea” way) with these delectable woody top notes & a jammy stonefruit undertones peeking out. It’s hard to find a good Qimen, but this was solid.

Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/CN3SCLCAdHS/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJpf3YNiw88&ab_channel=adambrianpaul