Keemun Quimen

One of my favorites. An intense, peppery red tea that, in addition to tasting exhilarating, is also a good kick-in-the-pants tea for getting a day started.

I have no idea if this is the right tea. I purchased some Silk Road Teas ‘Keemun’ from the bulk section of the co-op. Usually the co-op labels the teas thoroughly but I couldn’t find plain old Keemun on the Silk Road website so I’m dropping this here.

With that out of the way, prepared western with 2g, 8oz, 200F, 3/5m, this tea tastes like the smell of lipstick, autumn leaf and some berry. Smells better than it tastes with notes of red wine, malt and citrus. Actually, the aroma kind of smells like lipstick, too. I happen to like the smell of lipstick but can’t say I enjoy drinking it.

I think I have to play around with it more and adjust the rating accordingly.

This sample came from Blodeuyn. Yay, another Keemun! :D This is one of those tea categories that I am trying to explore more, as I feel I have neglected it in favor of Yunnan and Fujian teas. This tea has what I would consider to be typical Keemun leaves – they’re thin and small and very dark in color. Whoa, the dry scent hit me over the head when I opened the pouch. This tea smells so mineral and it’s extremely strong, almost to the point of being chemical. There’s a touch of musty hay scent there as well. I must admit, I was scared, so I steeped it for 2.5 minutes instead of 3 and I was very careful to level my teaspoon of leaf…

After steeping, the liquor also smells quite mineral but it’s less extreme. I can also smell bread and malt aromas. Luckily for me, drinking this tea is only a bit like licking a rock. The mineral is definitely the strongest note, but there’s also malt and bread, along with a creamy grain note reminiscent of oats. I get a light peppery taste, especially toward the end. Overall, not my favorite flavor profile, but not bad.