Seven Fairies Mall

The first time I had this tea it reminded me of both summer and fall. It had that tarry pine pitch smell that soaks out of rail ties on very hot days, that oddly provides a bright camphor type tone to the tea, as well as enough charred grain and smoke insence to make me think of fall curled up by a fire reading a book. This is not an overly smokey tea but smoke does influence and add spice to the flavour.

The dry leaf smells of sugar, charred grains, cocoa, and fruit, and a hint of bright camphor.

This is a very resilient tea for a keemun, brewed for steeps starting at 4 minutes I am now heading into the sixth steep.

My preferred brewing parameter for this tea is one TSP/225 ml/@93°C.

Brewed this way I get a minimally astringent broth that smells of charred grains, smoke insence, cocoa, caramel, warm red fruit, and plum, light pine tar/camphor tone, with a hint of menthol.

Roasted grains, smoke insence, and caramel are the first flavour tones. These mix with sharp fruit and cocoa. It finishes with a bright pine tar/menthol note mixed with red fruits and plum. A smoke tone creates a note that is a little roasted pecan like. It has a very sweet aftertaste.

Later steeps had notes of charred grain with smoke insence spice, cocoa, caramel, and plum. Tart fruit notes faded but are apparent as it cools. There was camphor/pine tar in aftertaste. These steeps had a spicy yet cool toned flavour. There were also hints of vanilla orchid, dark chocolate, and a spicy floral tone as it cools as well as a grainy note reminds me a little of horse feed.

My last steep had plum, caramel, cream, over mineral roasted cacao note.

Using more leaf intensified both the sweetness and smokey/Tarry nature of this tea, whereas using higher temperatures increased the astringency and created a woody, drying note in the tea.

This is a robust and very nice counterpoint to the other tea I got from the seller. I very much enjoy them both!
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Tea-Black-Tea-Keemun-100g-Black-Tea-Premium-50g-2-Factory-Direct-Quality-Keemun-Black-Tea/1708195985.html

Mmm, this tea is pretty good! You can make it very sweet and chocolatey, or give it a more bright and floral toned flavour depending on how you brew it. The tea is twisted and coiled and reminds me of a thinner leafed Laoshan Black. There are scattered golden tips and the dry leaf smells of chocolate and longan.

I brewed 1 level TSP in 225ml of water.

The first time I brewed it at 90°C. The brew was a pale golden brown, oak colour with a scent of honey, cocoa and longan.

Flavour wise the first sip was of cocoa, avery light roasted grain note, caramel, and butter. This opened up to sweet bright longan over sweet plum and light floral spice note with the sweeter brighter notes of gardenia. There was an udertone of cream, and chocolate with a pinch of nutmeg. The tea had a sweet lingering aftertaste and was creamy and very smooth.

The second time I tried it at boiling as suggested. This produced a red orange brew, closer to the classic Keemun colour.

Brewed this way the scent was of a stronger roasted grain note, caramel, more distinct sweet and spicy floral note, cream, dark chocolate, nutmeg and longan.

The tea tasted lighter than when brewed at 90°. The top notes were floral notes mixed with spice that left acooling sensation at the front of the mouth. Caramel and longan and tart sharper fruit notes, mixed with plum lay in the centre and were followed by roasted grain, dark chocolate and a slightly woody note. Overall the effect was bright and sweet.

This is the lighter, softer and more chocolate tasting option of the two Keemun’s I purchased from this seller. Brewed at a lighter temperature it reminds me of some of the smokeless Lapsang Souchong’s that I have had. Brewed Either way it was delicious.