Premium Keemun Hao Ya Black Tea

Actual Keemun!

I made 3 steeps in my gaiwan for the same times as the not really Keemun: 15, 20, 25 seconds. All into a mug! This is like so complex.

It’s sweet, it’s smoky, it’s sweet, it’s chocolate. That is an accurate summary of each sip.

I’ve just sat here with this open, despite drinking all of this first cup…more? I think so.

And 3 more tastes just the same. I bet this could be steeped like 12 more times and still taste amazing! But it’s getting too late for that. Next time I order from Teavivre, I’m getting more of this. Except I think my last order is lost at sea.

Drinking this today, as had Teavivre’s Organic Superfine Keemun yesterday.

Dry leaf is darker and glossy as described, and is also finer and more compact than the superfine leaf. Brewed aroma of malt with floral and some smoke. Tastes sweet and lightly malty with cocoa notes and a hint of smokiness. Quite delicious.

In comparison to the superfine version, this one seems bolder somehow in that it is less sweet and floral with more smoke and cocoa. I still have a serving of each so will try them both again another day in a side by side comparison. I enjoyed both very much but think I may have preferred yesterdays cup a bit better.. will try again though.

Additional notes: The third in my keemun test!  The dry leaves have even sweeter of a dried hay scent than Keemun Grade One.   I’m glad to see the leaves are still very tiny, as it seemed like the newer Teavivre’s harvest have larger leaf, which to me, means lighter in flavor.  This one has a very lovely lingering aftertaste.  But otherwise, it’s very very close to Grade One.  I can hardly tell them apart.
Steep #1  // 1 1/2 teaspoon for full mug // 20 minutes after boiling  // 2 minute steep
Steep #2  //  just boiled //  3 min steep
Harvest: 2018

Mmmm, so delicious. I used 1 tsp of leaf for this cup.
This Keemun is so smooth with some sweet fruity notes and a tiny bit of malty smoke in the background somewhere.
It is good chilled as well.
I am going to have to compare Teavivre’s Keemuns because I am going to have to keep one of them stocked for sure!
Which level of Keemun is most preferred by you Steepsterites!?

I’ve sort of lost the whole tea writing mood lately, as you can see from all the short I’m-behind-posts. We’re having this one right now, though, and I’m going to make myself sit down and write something pseudo-intelligent about it.

I like a Keemun to be largely smooth and rounded, but with a little bit of a smoky edge to it. Just a bit. I like the smokier tasting Keemuns better than the more floral tasting ones, and my least favourites are the ones that fall right in the middle of that spectrum because they’re so confusing!

This one has a mild aroma. It’s grainy and kinda sweet, and unfortunately it’s one of those where I can’t tell whether I think it’s more one or more the other. sigh In many other things I would call that a perfect balance, but in this particular kind of tea? I really really want it to be more smoky than floral. I really can’t decide what I think here, and now I’ve put lotion on my hands and can’t smell anything other than that so we’ll just move on.

The flavour is going a lot better in terms of leaning towards smoky or floral. Unfortunately for me, it’s more floral. Still, it’s better than the middle of the scale.

It makes up for this, though, by being extraordinarily cocoa-y. It’s just not a note I’m connecting with this type at all, normally, so it’s really interesting to find it here. It was actually the boyfriend who found it and pointed it out to me, and now I can’t untaste it.

It’s like all the grainyness that I would normally have expected to find has been transformed into cocoa. How interesting!

Another thing that’s interesting is how I’m apparently the only one to have thought it more floral than smoky… It makes me feel a little disappointed in my own tastebuds.

I’m dithering about this one. It’s a very good tea, yes, but it’s not at all what I want in a Keemun. I have to say, I miss the grain. I miss the association to proper Danish rye bread, dark and wholegrain-y, like this http://www.grillguru.dk/forum/userpix/1312_DSC_1283_1.jpg (not my site, not my picture. The magic of Google image search)

I’m definitely very much enjoying this one, but it’s not… it’s not it! So, if you were me, would you rate it solely on the experience of this particular cup, or would you deduct points for not being what you wanted it to be?

I’m going to give it a tentative score. Then we’ll see if I end up adjusting it.

Today, was my first foray into Chinese Gongfu brewing. Thus, it was also the first time I used a gaiwan http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/39240-butiki-flower-gaiwan and TeaVivre’s Double-wall Glass Tea Cups http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/39708-teavivre-double-wall-glass-tea-cups.

Recommended Brewing Instructions:

Mehtod:
RO water re-mineralized with an Aptera filter http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/39532-puregen-aptera-alkamag-water-filter

I selected this tea as I’m very familiar with how it tastes brewing western-style conveniently in a tea mug with a Finum brew basket http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/29177-finum-brewing-basket. This is my regular breakfast tea. I wanted to see how changing the brewing method would affect the flavor.

As this was my first my Gongfu brewing, I had to make do with what we had on hand. We don’t yet have a water boiler http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/39783-zojirushi-ve-r-hybrid-water-boiler-and-warmer-cv-dsc40-4-liters or a variable-temp electric kettle http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/39130-bonavita-1-liter-variable-temperature-digital-electric-gooseneck-kettle. I used a classic Revere Ware SS Copper-bottom stove-top kettle to boil water, which was then poured into a tea mug with a DAVIDsTEA Thermometer/Timer http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/36677-davidstea-thermometer-and-timer in the thermometer mode. A meat cutting board served as a tea tray/desk for collecting water.

Even though all the teaware used was first rinsed with boiling water, 3oz. of boiling water when first poured into the tea mug with the thermometer immediately cooled to 190℉. (3oz. was simply not a large enough quantity of water to overcome the ambient temperature of the tea mug. Normally, 8oz of boiling water poured into a room-temperature mug will immediately cool to 197-199℉.) Thus, a 10 sec. reheat in the microwave was needed. The water was allowed to cool to 194℉, then added to the gaiwan.

A Teavana Perfect Preset Tea Timer http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/39312-teavana-perfect-preset-tea-timer was used in the count-up mode to control the brewing time. In lieu of a tea pitcher & a matching tea strainer, a heavy Pyrex measuring cup and a small fine kitchen strainer were used.

Results:
Using the Gong-fu method produced a more nuanced flavor profile with enhanced aroma c/w Teavivre’s recommend Western brewing instructions. Steeps 4-6 were a little lighter than the first three. However, they still had more flavor than the 3rd steep using their Western method.

The obvious disadvantage to this method is the time necessary for 6 steeps each of which only produces 3oz. Additionally, since this was my first endeavor with Gong-fu brewing, I was focusing on the procedure and my technique, which somewhat distracted me from discerning the aroma & flavor differences between these two techniques.

The dry leaf of this tea has a powerful aroma. Stronger than anything I’ve had on hand in a good long while. Oddly, the smell is all Yunnan golden. Deeply sweet, like roasted figs.

The cup isn’t nearly as bold on a short steep but there’s a very pleasant round, full presence of the tea from start to finish.

I don’t have nearly as much astringency as I did from this tea the other day. Maybe I did over-cook it a bit, then?

Free sample provided by Teavivre, thanks again to them. This is my first Keemun, hooray! I always love when I get to try something completely new to me. As far as aroma goes, I noticed similarities to my previous experiences with Chinese black teas, such as a malty aroma with hints of cocoa and a slight bit of honey. While the leaf was steeping, the cocoa aroma intensified and a small amount of smoke presented itself. Every tea has a tone or a feeling to it, and the tone that this tea was presenting was dark and haunting.

The taste followed suit with the aromas. Dark chocolate, lots of malt and a little smokiness. This tea has some real heft to it. It’s not bitter, but it’s intense. It’s not astringent, but it’s robust. It reminds me of some really high quality coffee in its intensity, but it lacks the acidity of coffee. The smokiness is almost like an illusion to me, you can’t smell it or taste it on nearly the same level as a lapsang souchong, you just kind of feel like it’s there.

This tea would make a great wake up cup as well as an awesome late night tea.

What a heavenly day! It was 44F this morning when the sun rose, and just a bit above that when I went out to feed the chickens. Breakfast was served by candlelight and with hot cocoa, but I knew I had to have some great tea to enjoy this first truly autumnal day. After breakfast, youngest and I made a pot of this to enjoy.

Quite a few of the Teavivre black teas have instructions for lower temps and shorter steep times, and I quite often make them by western parameters because I am used to the strength. This one, however, is best made just how they recommend. The water is cooler – 194F and the steep time quite short at two minutes, but that is fine with me because I get my tea faster!

The morning pot of tea was lovely and bracing, comforting and warming. I saved the leaves and we made two more steeps this afternoon as we enjoyed the cool air and the brilliant blue sky with the sunlight hitting the tops of the pines and making them almost glow with fresh green color. And the tea was perfect. Perfect perfect perfect for this beautiful, blessed day. There is cocoa, walnut skins, malt, and pure beauty in this.

Some of you know that hubby used to drink grocery store black tea with tons of sugar and milk, but then he really started getting into oolongs and greens and even whites. He has eschewed black tea for a long time now because he says he wouldn’t enjoy it without additions.

Since he drinks puerh and likes it, I didn’t mention what I was drinking outside on the big quilt in my secret garden. Guess who drank two cups?

Wowzers! This actually made me jittery this morning! No tea has done that for me… at least not in a very long time! This is great for the mornings since I need that caffeine eye opener! I love this malty tea.