Keemun Black Tea – Grade 1

I sipped this down yesterday as a comparison to the premium keemun to determine which one I would like to stock in my cupboard. Needless to say, it didn’t go according to plan because I like them both for different reasons. I drank them side by side.

In my opinion, this one is a bit fruitier, with more prominent cocoa notes. It is maybe a little bit sweeter than the premium version, but not quite as smooth. It is definitely great for everyday drinking.

I can’t be all poetic about the flavor, because I had a cold when I tried this tea. But it’s a keeper. To me, it was just a good solid black tea. Kind of like the Chinese Folgers of the tea world. I’m keeping it to drink straight and also to mix with other teas to stretch them out or if they have too much flavoring.

Thank you Angel of Teavivre for this sample.

Such an enjoyable tea. A bit of maltiness, fruit, and smoke. I really liked the smokey flavor and how it lingered after the sip. The tea is smooth, and while it has some strength I would not call it a robust tea. In the future I’ll drink this as an afternoon tea. I like something with more kick to it in the morning.

If you’ve kept up with my tasting notes, you know that I am a huge fan of Teavivre Teas. I have yet to be disappointed by any of their products.

If I had to pick a favorite, it would probably be Teavivre’s fabulous Premium Keemun Hao Ya Black Tea. That tea is nothing short of incredibly fantastic, albeit a little pricey. This time, I thought I would save some money and hope that their Grade 1 Keemun selection was good enough to satisfy my Keemun itch.

I love the aroma of the short unbrewed tea leaves. It is a rich, sweet, and earthy smell that seems to belong only to Teavivre’s Keemun.

I steeped the tea at 205 degrees for three minutes as instructed on the packet. The color of the brewed liquor was golden brown.

As I brought the cup to my lips, I could already smell the savory Keemun. The first sip was absolutely delicious. The taste was sweet, earthy, full-bodied, and very smooth. There was no bitterness to be found. Subsequent sips…and cups…were at least equally delightful.

In my opinion, this Grade 1 Keemun is every bit as delicious and satisfying as Teavivre’s Premium Keemun Hao Ya Black Tea. If you are on a budget (as I am), and you love Keemun, take advantage of the great taste and very reasonable price (currently – 10/24/2012 – Teavivre is also offering 20% off!) of the Grade 1 Keemun tea. I am very glad that I did! By the way, if your budget is even more restricted than mine, Teavivre has a Grade 2 Keemun black tea at even greater savings (and also currently – 10/24/2012 – 20% off)!

I drink a lot of tea, but I usually forget to write notes.
I’m under 1/3 of 100gr bag of Premium Hao Ya grade of this tea, so now I’m trying to get it even with other two grades I purchased. What sometimes bothers me with TeaVivre’s Hao Ya grade is that it’s somewhat too light bodied and tends to lose part of its aroma when prepared with bottled water other than I usually use.
Keemun Grade 1 has more of a character, even little bitter possibly due to brewing it in tall inox thermos and thus water breaking some leaf and releasing bitterness. It’s really cold in Bosnia these days so I’m getting the feeling that water in my usual glass teapot is cooling down faster than it should and the end result isn’t satisfying. Moving on.

As I said infusion presents itself as more robust with a dash of bitterness and yet it feels light as it goes down the throat. I really can’t feel roasted notes but I do get some of that of steamed vegetables. All in all it’s pleasant for my palate, but I’m not making any ‘wows’ , an this cuppa can pass as breakfast tea for me.

Ok, so I just got my box of samples from Teavivre this morning and wanted to tear right into them and start drinking. Of this box, I was most excited about the flavoured ones (strawberry oolong and peach jasmine dragon pearl green) but as I had started the day with a keemun yesterday, I thought I’d have the keemun grade 1 today to compare.

I have to say that this one is milder. It’s less smoky than the Red Blossom from yesterday. I do taste a bit of a cocoa (as opposed to actual chocolate) flavour, and a bit grainy. I admit I do not pick up anything floral or fruity. I would say that if there was anything fruity, it would probably be more like a black plum, or maybe date…but any fruit flavour is really mild and indistinguishable from the richer cocoa and grain flavours.

I do think that my straight black tea palate is growing some, so whereas I may not have liked the previous keemun from Teavivre as much, it has grown on me. That said, I think I still prefer the Fengqing Dragon Pearls and Superfine Tan Yang Gong Fu over this, but it is a nice smooth flavour that is great to start the day with.

I do thank Angel at Teavivre for providing yummy samples for review, and I can’t wait to try more from my box. Expect a tasting from one of the fruit ones soon…probably the strawberry oolong. I am excited about this round of samples. :)

I bought this online from Teavivre a while ago. I used all the leaves from one packet, but I could have split it into two or three parts to use later. Keemun is not particularly my favorite black tea, but it was one of the first loose leaf teas I had ever bought. This tea is actually very good. It is smoky but not overpowering or ‘in your face’. It is a little woody and has a hint of cacao in it. It is ever so slightly astringent, but it is VERY smooth. In fact, I didn’t add any additives to this tea at all. This was a pleasant and good experience and a great morning brew.

I went through this tea very quickly. Purchased it 1 month ago and used the last today at work. I might have been overleafing a touch. Sipdown.

Good solid tea. Fruity, sometimes caramel, comforting black tea.

Sipdown! (65)

After trying the Keemun Imperial the other day, I thought I would break into some of my other Teavivre Keemun samples to see how they compare! This one is their second-to-lowest grade version (the lowest being Grade 2).

This pot has a bit more bite than the one I steeped yesterday – I wonder if this packet had more broken leaf or something? It’s not horribly bitter or anything, but there’s a bitterness that creeps up around the edges of my mouth starting mid-sip.

Otherwise, this is surprisingly not that different from the higher-grade version. It’s a tad heavier, but has similar baked bread and honey notes. There’s a bit more earthiness, and a bit less honey, and I’m also not getting cinnamon here. I taste hay and oats along with the bread as well, and a hint of mineral smoky note appears alongside the bitterness toward the end of the sip.

I think I get the winey-ness more with this one as it’s tannic and has a darker fruit note, like a dry red wine. This is surprisingly brisk for a Chinese black tea! I still have 3 or 4 different Keemun teas to try, which should be fun. :D

Sample purchased by self. I used my own parameters for the evaluation, treating this as I treated Keemun Grade 2. Brewed in a porcelain gaiwan, drank from a white porcelain cup. Steeping times: 20 seconds, 10, 20, 30; 1 minute, 2, 6.

The aromas are quite different from those of Grade 2. Again, I only smell tannins from the dry leaf, but the heated and wet leaf aromas are what shine. The former is very sweet, with notes of dark chocolate and berries, reminding me of those chocolate-covered blueberries and pomegranate. The latter initially smells typically of molasses and honey, but more exposure to air morphs these notes into tart berries. Lovely. I took my time breathing in the aromas.

The liquor is a fiery deep orange (classic keemun color). Overall, Grade 1 is sweeter than Grade 2, though much lighter tasting. The body is more in the middle on the scale, having a medium body, strong though not brisk, not filling the mouth with flavor. Infusions one through three taste of molasses and honey; tannic but leaning more towards sweetness as opposed to the balance that Grade 2 has. Furthermore, I noticed this grade has a nicely smooth and thick texture.

Surprisingly, this grade has considerably less gongfucha stamina. I could have finished with cup #3, but wanted to learn what how much farther it could really go. In truth, four through seven aren’t worth it. In spite of the color remaining strong, it became too light in flavor, only a remnant of what it tasted like in the first couple infusions. I used a 1:20 ratio. I may have to use 1:15 for this to suit my fancy more. But it seems I would enjoy this more in a mug than in a gaiwan. Comparing the two keemuns, Grade 2 suited my fancy more because it was stronger and more flavorful.

I then brewed this in a typically sized mug twice, using 2g each time, similar temperature. The flavor and intensity is very much same: light, sweet, and slightly tannic. The less water the better since a full mug tastes diluted. Again, too light for my taste.