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__Morgana__ drank Qimen Mao Feng by American Tea Room

2036 tasting notes

This is a never opened ATR sample from way back when. The tea no longer appears to be available on the ATR web site. I steeped for the time and at the temp stated on the packet.

I think Qimen is a variant spelling of Keemun. In any case, the dry leaf looks like Keemun and smell chocolatey with the tiniest hint of smoke.

The tea is on the darker side of medium red-brown and has an arboreal scent that reminds of pine but isn’t pine. The chocolate notes persist in the aroma, but not the smoke.

The tea is brisk and perky, but isn’t light — I think the marketing statement that it’s medium body is right on. It’s not what I think of as malty, which is a bit deeper in flavor and body, but there’s a definite bread note in there. I don’t get much more than a slight hint of smoke.

A pleasant tea that would probably be equally good iced, but alas, I don’t have enough to cold brew and as mentioned, this is no longer available from ATR.

It’s been so long, I can’t remember the Keemuns that knocked my socks off, so I’m rating this a bit in a vacuum as a solid good but not spectacular.

Flavors: Bread, Chocolate, Smoke

Preparation

190 °F / 87 °C 4 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 17 OZ / 500 ML

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I got obsessed with tea in 2010 for a while, then other things intruded, then I cycled back to it. I seem to be continuing that in for a while, out for a while cycle. I have a short attention span, but no shortage of tea.

I’m a mom, writer, gamer, lawyer, reader, runner, traveler, and enjoyer of life, literature, art, music, thought and kindness, in no particular order. I write fantasy and science fiction under the name J. J. Roth.

Personal biases: I drink tea without additives. If a tea needs milk or sugar to improve its flavor, its unlikely I’ll rate it high. The exception is chai, which I drink with milk/sugar or substitute. Rooibos and honeybush were my gateway drugs, but as my tastes developed they became less appealing — I still enjoy nicely done blends. I do not mix well with tulsi or yerba mate, and savory teas are more often a miss than a hit with me. I used to hate hibiscus, but I’ve turned that corner. Licorice, not so much.

Since I find others’ rating legends helpful, I added my own. But I don’t really find myself hating most things I try.

I try to rate teas in relation to others of the same type, for example, Earl Greys against other Earl Greys. But if a tea rates very high with me, it’s a stand out against all other teas I’ve tried.

95-100 A once in a lifetime experience; the best there is

90-94 Excellent; first rate; top notch; really terrific; will definitely buy more

80-89 Very good; will likely buy more

70-79 Good; would enjoy again, might buy again

60-69 Okay; wouldn’t pass up if offered, but likely won’t buy again

Below 60 Meh, so-so, iffy, or ick. The lower the number, the closer to ick.

I don’t swap. It’s nothing personal, it’s just that I have way more tea than any one person needs and am not lacking for new things to try. Also, I have way too much going on already in daily life and the additional commitment to get packages to people adds to my already high stress level. (Maybe it shouldn’t, but it does.)

That said, I enjoy reading folks’ notes, talking about what I drink, and getting to “know” people virtually here on Steepster so I can get ideas of other things I might want to try if I can ever again justify buying more tea. I also like keeping track of what I drink and what I thought about it.

My current process for tea note generation is described in my note on this tea: https://steepster.com/teas/mariage-freres/6990-the-des-impressionnistes