Superfine Keemun Mao Feng Black Tea

This is a sample from the lovely boychik. Thank you!

This summer I got to try 3 of the Teavivre keemuns side by side. At the time I determined that the Hao Ya was my favorite of the 3. It offered the deep notes of cocoa as well as hints of fruitiness. I think for mornings the Hao Ya may still be my favorite as it offers a tad more briskness, but this is such an elegant tea. It is so smooth. with some of the familiar notes of keemun. When I sip I first am hit with the malt and cocoa aspects of this tea. At the end of the sip in comes a hint of floral followed by a fruity sweetness. I am not getting any woody notes or smoke notes in this tea. When I place an order for the Hao Ya I will add in a sample of all the keemuns to compare again. Thanks again boychik for the sample!

I was lucky enough to receive some generous samples of black tea from Teavivre, and I can’t wait to try them all. This was the first one I went for, and seems to be a good choice (though I’m guessing that they all are!). I’ve been tending toward flavored teas lately, and haven’t had a good unflavored black tea in a long time. I always seem to forget how much I love them until I happen to have one and I’m reminded all over again.
This tea was really lovely. It was very smooth, and I didn’t get any bitterness or astringency at all. I got some dark chocolate notes, which I always really love in these kinds of teas. I look forward to trying this tea out some more, and seeing what parameters give me the best results

Tea provided by Teavivre for review

For me, the timing of sampling new teas for Teavivre was perfect. I haven’t been writing on Steepster much due to problems with the website and also to drink through a lot of older teas I haven’t finished yet. And because winter has been especially intense for me this year (or it seems like it). I was thrilled to warm up with black tea and ripe puerh.

Starting with the samples I chose to short steep Superfine Keemun Mao Feng.

The initial steep was a surprise to my senses. Usually I expect a really strong rose/floral flavour from Keemun type teas. Instead I was greeted by a refined rose flavour, with notes of honey and a good black tea base to back it up. It’s difficult to put into words, but the difference between lower grades and their Superfine version is vast. “Everyday” Keemun has always been a bit too rough on my tastebuds, especially its strong rose flavour.

Sipping through the second through fifth resteeps, it maintained a consistent flavour. I was really impressed the overall balance of the tea while still retaining a deep black tea body (not flat or dull). The honey and floral notes, combined with the delicate nature reminded me of drinking white tea.

Overall, out of all the Keemun tea I have tried from Teavivre this is my favourite. I typically dislike tea with strong intrusive flavours, especially floral (rose). So this sampling was very satisfying for me to try. I always assumed that Keemun wasn’t really my type of tea until trying this version. If you prefer really bold floral flavours, the lower grades would be a better fit.

Short steeped as suggested by Teavivre’s website. 10s, 5s, 10s, 15s, 15s

Ah… To think that not all that long ago I didn’t know TeaVivre existed. :)

I am not the learned taster that some here clearly are and my palette clearly is not as definitive (heck, I don’t even like sweet potatoes so I don’t eat them), but I know what I like and I like this tea.

Granted this is my first effort with it and I like to play with different leaf quantities, water temp and steep time to extract the best flavor for me, but I like this black. To me it is not an “in your face” flavor burst that I like in other blacks but it has a nice flavor that lingers.

More to follow.

Oh, I haven’t tried this one before! Sample from Angel. I love the aroma. Light malt drenched in honey. There is no hint of smoke, bitterness, or rough edges. This is just oh so smooth. In the taste, I again get malt and honey. There is a baked quality to it like maybe cocoa. Beyond this I get occasional mineral notes, then stone fruit (apricot?). There are even occasional flashes of floral notes.

From a little research, Keemun refers to the growing area not a particular processing. That is good to know as I don’t think I would identify this as Keemun by tasting. I can identify it as a really tasty Chinese red (black) tea.

After hanging out in the snowy woods again, I decided to have this tea. There is a sweet, bread like scent, with hints of honey and sweet potatoes. The flavour is more molasses and bittersweet dark chocolate. It is a bit darker than the others I’ve tried this weekend, but still good for snowy evenings.

Thank you Angel for sending me this sample.

It used to be that when I thought of Keemums I thought of smoke, but Teavivre introduced me to a world of Keemuns that have no or very, very little smoke. I think it’s pretty well known that I love a good smoky tea, but I’m also intrigued by all of the layers of flavor that are present in Keemuns when the smoky note is absent. This offer by Teavivre is a great example.

The tea starts off with a moderate malty note followed by a light floral note and something hinting at spice. Kind of an all spice flavor, but not quite. Then there are notes of honey with a dark cocoa flavor underneath. Every now and then I’d taste plum, but I didn’t get too many stone fruit flavors. Overall, this was a very nice cup.

The second steep was completely different from the first except for the malt note. I also tasted baked bread and leather. There was much more of an earthy feel to the second cup as opposed to the first. It was much more bracing and what I’ve come to expect from Keemuns. Again, a very nice cup. I can’t even say which steep I preferred more since they were both quite tasty in their own way.

A really nice offer from Teavivre. I’m looking forward to drinking more of this one.

As much as I love Keemun in blends, I rarely find myself wanting to drink it straight. There’s something about it that almost seems too much. Like a chewy thick quality that is often quite heavy. This one is a bit different. It has some nice brightness that eases the heft. It’s quite creamy, but there’s a decent amount of floral notes that lightens the feel. Then there’s a bit of a green taste in it… almost like the way wet grass smells. Something I definitely wasn’t expecting.

I have to thank the lovely Cameron B. for sending me too many samples in our swap, because I’m totally counting them toward my sipdown goal. Which is only cheating a little bit
Sipdown 4/75

Clearly it’s not my night. xD After the DTT, it all seemed to go downhill. xD
This one is definitely not for me either. Though better than the last one, this one is super strong too.
The main taste for me is leather. What makes it better than the last one is that it also tastes like sweet potatoes. xD Kinda a weird combo. But the sweet potatoes make it a lot more drinkable for me.
This one wasn’t the worst, but not my favorite either.
Glad I tried it…but still don’t get the hype. This one isn’t for me! XD

Just when I think I won’t taste another Keemun that I could love as much as those who have already stolen my heart, here comes another one. The dry leaf of Teavivre’s Superfine Keemun Mao Feng is wiry little black leaves that smell of dried fruit and light earthiness. After a 4 minutes steep, the liquid is a beautiful amber color and smells of molasses and moss….and it gets better!!! The taste of this tea is much like the leaves…delicate, balanced and completely captivating. It is breathtakingly aromatic, with gentle notes of forest moss, sweetness of dried fruit and molasses and a touch of light toasty grain to round the flavor profile out. This tea is smooth, fragrant, and not to be missed!