Imperial Keemun Black Tea
DESCRIPTION
One of the most celebrated black teas from China comes from Qi Men County of Anhui Province. Qi Men tea (romanized as Keemun) is among the oldest black teas produced in China. Our Imperial Keemun is produced from a xiao ye (small leaf) varietal that have an almost oily sheen that the Chinese call bao guang (treasure luster), a rarity in today’s lightly oxidized black teas from China. The leaves are uniform in size and color with notes of ripe apples. This tea has bright, red liquor with complex flavors and textures. Imperial Keemun is an extraordinary tea that we’re proud to offer to our customers.
GROWING REGION
Anhui, China: Province in southeastern China, known for producing black teas in the late 1800’s. A number of excellent green and black teas are now grown in the region.
BREWING SUGGESTIONS
As always, good water is essential to a good tea experience, so please choose water of high quality to brew your favorite tea. We recommend steeping 3 grams in a 6 oz. Gaiwan with nearly boiling (208º F). Of all our Keemuns, this one would work best if enjoyed with the typical English style preparation.
This IS The Real Thing…wow! Not just “anybody” would recognize the “genuine article”–but Roy does! This tea is so quietly FULL of nuances that you have to take your time—however “rare” that is, today!–to fully enjoy this delightful tea. It only takes good WATER (Fiji) and a decent temperature(208F) and 4 g. to meet this beauty “head-on!” It’s like enjoying each part of a beautiful painting.
Wonderful, comforting, a welcome friend every night in our home.
There must be other keemum out there, but I can’t imagine drinking any but this one. For years its balance and fragrance, flavor and presence have always been perfect. Thanks!
A very nice new black tea, although not the same as the old, classic Keemuns. Roy succeeded in getting all the smokiness and astringency out of it. Has considerably more flavor than the other 2 new Keemuns (Floral & Superior Keemun Mao Feng), but it’s easy to make it too strong. We experimented with time & temperature, and preferred 3 grams/2 teaspoons for 1 to 1.5 minutes at 200 degrees.