I’m having a bit of a qimen morning. I enjoy a good Qimen tea, & this one is pleasant enough. I divided the last of my stash, which was 4G. I put 1 tsp, which was roughly half of it, into a regular steeping basket, & put the other half into my little 4 oz teapot, which I only filled halfway with each round. The smell of the dry leaf is sweet, lightly smokey, & very nice, definitely more fragrant than any of the other Keemuns in my collection.
The gongfu session was first up. I was teaching, so I didn’t take notes, but I thoroughly enjoyed each cup, as the flavors gradually built up layers of flavor:Fruit, chocolate, creaminess, smoke, incense.
Definitely a very nice representation of what a Keeman can be, & what so few really are.
I don’t know how many steeps I ran through, but as the flavors died down, I made a regular mug of Qimen, steeped 4 minutes. I wanted to have a cup to compare with another Keemun in my collection, because I’m really trying to figure out if THIS one is really all that. I also thoroughly enjoyed it. All the flavors were there, it’s a nice rich cup. If I had more, I’d probably go a little heavier on the tea.
Some of the Keemuns I have in my collection are ok, & very drinkable, but not of this same profile. They tend towards the earthy profile, with maybe some brown sugar and/or smoke, but don’t have quite the nuances that this one has. And that’s the end of that. Sipdown.
