DISCONTINUED - Golden Sunrise Black Tea

I really should have brewed this in the gaiwan but I was in need of tea ASAP after the peach fiasco.

My favorite part of keemun is how it has the most delicious honey notes, almost better than honey itself. Although, I just say that because keemun isn’t sticky and therefore is less messy to handle.

This one is really tasty, very sweet, and all around a good black tea in the morning to just drink straight.

I left a bit in my mug when I went to start prepping my spaghetti squash and it was even good cold, yay!

Thank you Shadowfall for selling a bit of this one! I felt like I needed a bit of (any) keemun in my collection. I really like this one!

Steep #1 // a few minutes after boiling // 4 min
I steeped a teaspoon and half. The dry leaves have the fragrance of dry grass. The steep color is a dark copper. The flavor is very nice: a bit of that dry grass, maltiness at the top of the cup, hints of dark chocolate but not as much as Teavivre’s keemun. ISlight briskness that is perfect for the morning (golden sunrise?) t doesn’t seem that smoky to me, and I thought keemun was generally supposed to be smoky, just not as much as lapsang souchong. Though I haven’t had too much experience with keemun. It’s just really a perfect cup and was gone in no time.

Steep #2 // just boiled // 4 min
This cup was a tad bit less amazing than the first cup, but still really really good. If I made a purchase at Whispering Pines, I’d definitely order some of this one… but it looks like it isn’t on the site (I swear I saw it a week ago). It seems like WP’s plain teas are as nice as their creative blends!

I enjoy this tea. The flavor is sweet with honey and fruity notes. There is a super light smoked note along with a light malty-ness. I can taste a bit of a sweet potato, too. I really like this one :)

This is the second straight Keemum I’ve tried. The first I tried (Zen teas) was a little picky if over leafed or steeped too long it was very smoky but when you got it right it had a nice body and an interesting mix of flavours but it isn’t something I drink on a regular basis.

This one is quite nice. It is very sweet and refreshing and the smoke takes a back seat. I brewed this tea in a western style according to the instructions on Whispering Pines website. 1 tsp per cup for 3 minutes at boiling water. It brews up to a maple colour hinting at copper. The tea smells of smoke, mint, sweet caramelized potato and plum hinting into cherry with a hint of lemon.

At first sip it tastes of caramelized burnt sugar and sweet potato, opening into a fresh smoky and slightly minty flavour, underneath a slightly sour sweet plum taste with a hint of artichoke. The tea is pretty refreshing and might make a nice ice tea. Later sips reveal floral notes of rose as a top note. It is a fairly smooth tea with little astringency and a thin to medium body. There is an aftertaste of burnt sugar/ dark honey, with sour stone fruit notes. This tea is a nice mix of sweet and sour and refreshing. The mint might be the result of contamination from a tea it was shipped with or might be how I detect the pine notes this tea is supposed to have, but it actually is a nice addition to the tea if it is. This is a nice everyday tea.

I could’ve sworn I tried this before. I guess I just didn’t remember to write a note for it.
It’s got a nice scent to the brew. Kinda malty. Mild woody taste. Also vaguely sweet & kinda fruity maybe?
Overall this is pretty unremarkable to me. I enjoyed trying it, and I’ll finish what I have, but I’ll probly not be ordering any more.

Holy crap! Look at me all reappearing over here and stuff.

I know it was almost a month ago, but I did get better in time to head up north with Fiance for the 4th. We had a blast tubing, four-wheeling, bonfires, and being nature-y

Fiance also never showed symptoms of strep. Jerk.

Anyway. It was probably a good thing I stepped back from here for a little bit. I’ve been able to curb my buying habits at least a little better. It’s not quite as cringe inducing when I check my bank account now. Unfortunately it seems I can’t stay away too long because loving tea and sharing that love kinda doesn’t go away. So I’m back.

After a long (for me) hiatus, I’m back with a review of a sample I got from KallieBoo! Thank you!

I’ve also only had a couple Keemum’s before this, so this is fun!

This cup brews up into something that’s the color of antique cherry wood and has a nice plummy earthy aroma. I didn’t really get smokey, but I’ve found that if the smoke is really subtle it comes across as earthy to me.

The taste is honey and sweet potato at the open, then morphs into an earthy rich maltiness with a slightly sweet and sour plum note. The aftertaste is that honey flavor with a more lingering taste of rich plum. It has a really smooth mouthfeel.

There’s some mild (very mild) astringency that lessens as the tea nears room temperature.

I really enjoyed this, and could see this being a great straight up iced tea.

I found this when I rummaged through my tea cupboard. I can’t remember if I had drunk this before and not reviewed it, or if it has just languished. (NTS: drink from stash and stop buying tea.)

This is a nice black tea. Smooth, a bit smokey, a little sweet. Very nice.

From Lewis & Clark TTB #11

This is lighter than most of the premium Keemuns I usually drink. It’s a nice, elegant tea with mostly smoky flavors, but with hints of chocolate and herbs underneath. Decent finish. Not bad but not exciting.

I purchased this from Shadowfall in her recent stash sale. Had to scoop up those Whispering Pines teas! I’ve actually never had a keemun before but I was willing to take the risk for such a reasonable price! :) The leaves are small, short, and extremely dark. I would describe it as “generic black tea” and I don’t mean that in a bad way. Dry, it smells a little musty with honey and raisin notes. Steeped for 3 minutes.

My first impression of the aroma was that it smells like an English Breakfast. There’s a little smoke and honey in there. The taste is quite bold! The strong flavor is the main event but it also has some very nice subtle accompaniments. There’s a lovely honey quality to it, and a very light smoke in the background. It’s a tad malty. I added about half a teaspoon of sugar and it brought out some lovely dark fruit notes that remind me of raisins or dates. This tea is a bit bold for me, but the sugar really helped the round out the flavor and I’m sure it would take milk very well.

A great experience for my very first Keemun! Thanks Shadowfall!