Hint of smoke, slightly fruity with hints of plum.
PALATE
Sherry-like with a fruity, wine-like palate.
3512
A tangible air of mystery lingers in the breeze, and the magic begins as the tea blender works at the fine, unbroken leaves with the greatest skill. With nimble fingers, the tea blender is confident in his knowledge and experience, creating a masterpiece of exquisite proportions.
The original “English Breakfast” tea from the misty mountains of China's Anwei province, Keemun was not produced until the 1870s. Legend has it that a young man, ignoring his father's warning that it was better to learn a skill than to enter the unstable world of the government, became a civil servant.
Years later, when his superior fell into disgrace, the young man lost his job and was cast down from the precarious height of officialdom. Remembering his father's words, the man traveled to the Fujian province and learned about fermenting black tea.
When he returned to his home county of Qimen, he set up three tea processing factories and began to produce Keemum. It turned out that the combination of the well-drained soil and the warm and moist climate produced tealeaves that were well suited to fermentation.
YIELD 50 cups
PRICE $21.95
YIELD 200 cups
PRICE $65.85
Keemun, similar to India Darjeeling black teas, is one of the great teas. It was first grown in 1875 in Qimen County of Huangshan City, Anhui province, China, where the climate is mild with rich, well-drained soils and mountainous gardens covered by high humidity and fog. The cloud cover helps to increase chlorophyll content and yields the distinctive Keemun mouthfeel.
Historically, the finest English Breakfast teas were made primarily from Keemun black teas - but due to the high cost and lack of supply, modern mainstream English Breakfast teas tend to use cheaper teas from India or Sri Lanka (Ceylon). We hold firmly to the classical interpretation of English Breakfast and primarily use Keemun throughout our blending program.
