I loved this tea. It reminded me a lot of the Spring Keemun from Andrews & Dunham, both in the smell and taste, and the appearance of the leaf.

Mild but pleasant smell to the dry leaf, which looks very curly in shape, little snail-like curls a lot like bi luo chun. Smells sweeter than other Keemun Mao Feng, but still has that chocolately quality. It's not explosively aromatic but if I really stick my nose in the bag and breathe in deeply, there's an incredibly pleasant malty smell that suggests a tea of top quality. I was really curious to see what this one delivered.

As soon as the water hits the leaves, the tea starts smelling a lot more "normal" for a Keemun, particularly one of very good quality. It reminded me a little bit of TeaVivre's Superfine Keemun, in having a slight cooling quality (contrasting with the warm overall character), but was subtly different. There's a fairly strong toasty flavor, slightly smoky, and the flavor is very smooth but still rich. There's malt in the aroma, but I find I have to pay attention to detect it.

I found this tea's subtlety, though, not to hit me in the face. The experience of drinking it reminded me of this beer, Conway's Irish Ale, brewed by Great Lakes Brewing company. That beer is earthy, and complex, but smooth enough to knock back quickly without paying attention to. I found this tea similar, both in having a complexity in the earthy tones, but in being easy to drink quickly without fully appreciating the nuances.

One thing I loved though about this tea, it tasted just as good when it cooled, and it seemed to still have a rich, warming quality even at room temperature.

Great price, it's not cheap, but this is a top-quality tea. The leaf goes very far, resteeps well, easy to enjoy and appreciate.

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