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(Free sample provided by ESGREEN. Thank you!)

It’s been a while since I’ve written any notes on Steepster, and the reason behind it is that I’ve been under some stress – college, looking for new flat to move into has put me away from refining my sribbled tea notes. I’ll try to write tasting note a day (or every other, at least ) since I have a lot of samples waiting for some time.

Setup:

Glass teapot (250 ml)
Leaf – 2,5 grams
Water – 100 Celsius 180 ml
Time – 3 min

Leaf & infusion:

Dry leaf – Black with very little red hue, glossless and broken. Has a honey-like syrupy aroma with faint flowery hint. I’ve never experienced a broken Keemun with this many fine nuances such as this one.

Wet leaf – Wet leaf is ripped, thin, with dark reddish hue with only few leaf stalks to be found. A simple sniff reveals warming honey aroma.

Infusion – Liquor appears to be of ‘default’ black tea tone, coppery-reddish and deep. As this grade is more of a blending ingredient it lacks a light body of more fine Keemun and rolls over the tongue more as medium-bodied.

Surprsisingly, this broken grade is very sweet and flowery, especially at the end, where sweetness sits for some time while a faint flowery note diminishes.

Fine notes of honey linger over the palate as freshness in throat starts to develop, quite a surprise actually. After a few sips a roasted aspect with hint of molasses comes into play with just a tiny vegetal hint that can be detected with some concentration.

Conclusion – For a broken grade this Keemun is quite a treat and surprise, too. I guess I wasn’t expecting that much fine notes that are usually involved with finer grades of this tea. I usually tend to judge a leaf by its grade, looks and price, but every now and then some harsh looking leaf shows up and slaps me into face, or better to say – palate.