Tea: Spring Keemun
A Keemun from Andrews & Dunham Damn Fine Teas
Brand: | Andrews & Dunham Damn Fine Teas |
Style: | Keemun |
Region: | China |
Caffeine: | Caffeinated |
Loose? | Loose |
# Ratings: | 2 View All |
Product page: | Spring Keemun |
Reviewer: Alex Zorach
✓ 1453 teas reviewed
✓ 18 of Keemun
✓ 501 of Black Tea
✓ 2 of Andrews & Dunham Damn Fine Teas
✓ 382 from China
Review of Spring Keemun
November 11th, 2014
Aroma | Flavor | Value | Total |
9 of 10 | 5 of 5 | 5 of 5 | 94 of 100 |
Superb | Excellent | Outstanding |
I sampled this tea at the Philadelphia Coffee and Tea Festival, and it was mind-blowing! I'm now writing an extended review after brewing it myself at home.
The dry leaf has a unique aroma, vegetal, suggesting sweetness, and with a hint of smoke.
Brews up a rich, dark cup which is surprisingly smooth in flavor, even naturally sweet, and low in bitterness. There's just enough astringency to make it full-bodied.
The cup has a very complex aroma, notes of wood smoke, vegetables, and a hint of wintergreen. Recognizable as Keemun, but pretty far outside the bounds of what I consider normal for Keemuns. A much lighter tea, less of the chocolatey, roasty, or dried fruit notes that I find in some darker keemuns. Fruity, but almost suggestive of plum, concord grape, or raspberry.
I found this exceedingly pleasant...it's a real sipping tea though, not easy to drink quickly in spite of its mild flavor. Its aromatic intensity seems to demand that I take only small sips.
Easy to brew. Not much leaf is needed, but smooth enough to brew stronger. Easily brews two cups, three if using more leaf and shorter steeps. The second cup is usually a little thinner-bodied but still exceedingly pleasant. I like a teaspoon of leaf (which is less than a teaspoon of most teas, because the curly leaf takes up a lot of space) and a 5 minute steep, followed by 8-12 for the second cup, or alternatively, a bit more leaf, and 2-3 min, 5 min, then 8-12 for the last cup. The leaf stretches surprisingly far.