China Keemun

Well, let me start by saying that, generally, I am a big fan of Keemun tea. Let me follow that up by mentioning that this week, I have drunk Zen Tea Life’s Keemun Finest, which sets the bar quite high, in my humble opinion, because it is a big favourite.

The packet here offers no information beyond the bare bones. No point of origin, no specific flavour notes.

I steeped this western style. The packet here said boiling, so I went with boiling. I steeped fast, perhaps two minutes instead of the four minutes recommended on the packet.

The solid black leaves contained a considerable amount of dust and the tea liquid steeping in my clear glass steeper was murky brown.

I had been looking forward to the Keemun smokiness and was disappointed. Instead, the brew is reminiscent of that you would get from a hotel teabag, English Breakfast perhaps, slightly stale. Sadly, this cup lacks the fragrance and taste I would ordinarily associate with Keemun.

As it cools slightly, a bit of the Keemun sweetness comes up to rescue it, but the sweetness is faint, just barely barely. That sweetness is defeated by the astringency and dryness that catches the back of your mouth towards the throat.

This is a strong kick in the pants kind of tea, I’ll give it that. Good for when you need to get out the door and fast, with no time to dilly dally and ponder the subtleties of tea, or anything much. Or this might be a good tea to drink with a pancake and maple syrup breakfast when you need a strong brew to wash it down.

Perhaps milk and sweetener would make this a kinder cup.

Thanks, MissB, for passing this my way to review. I will keep trying.