Keemun Black Tea – Grade 2

As one of the key ingredients in the famous English Breakfast tea, Keemun black tea is justifiably considered one of the finest black teas in the world.  It's strong aroma and taste hints at both flowers and fruit, but is well balanced and always leaves you wanting more.
When you look at TeaVivre's Keemun you will see thin, twisted buds that have been carefully hand-rolled to avoid breakage but allow the buds to fully oxidise during processing.
A perfect breakfast tea, Keemun is the key ingredient in many breakfast blends, notably English Breakfast and Russian Caravan.  It is great to drink by itself, or with milk or sugar.

Brief Health Info

Keemun black tea is fully oxidised, and so does not have the same level of antioxidants as our Green or White teas.  However it still makes a great healthy tea to drink, especially if drunk with no or minimal milk and sugar, and provides a great natural source of fluoride and other vitamins.

For more information on the health benefits of TeaVivre's Black Teas, see our article on Tea Health benefit.

How to Make Tea

Keemun is best brewed in a Purple-sand or porcelain tea set.  One to two teaspoons of leaves should be used for each cup of tea.  It should be brewed in water that is around 205 ºF (95 ºC) for 2 to 3 minutes.  This also will help pre-heat the teapot, which is a good idea given the longer brewing time best for this tea.  Keemun can be brewed 3-4 times depending on your taste, with an additional minute being added to the steeping each time.

Be careful with this tea to not overbrew it, as you will then loose much of the complex, subtle rich tastes that are its highlights.

For more information on some of the skills and arts of brewing tea, check out our article on How To Make Tea.

Where is TeaVivre's Keemun black tea produced

Huangshan Mountain lies in the south of Anhui Province, circling from east towards west.
Mountain regions occupies 90% of its total area, with an average elevation around 600 meters. Tea gardens mainly spread in valleys between the elevation of 100 to 350 meters. Forests take an percentage of 80% of its total area. Day and night temperature here ranges greatly, while with cloudy climate and short time of daylight, forming a suitable environment for tea’s growth. This Keemun Fragrant Black Tea TeaVivre choosed is from the tea base in Huangjing Village, Boxi Township.

Keemun County locates in the south of Anhui Province, west of Huangshan Mountain. Now it has an area of 10,000 squares’ tea gardens. Keemun, the Township of Chinese Black Tea, has a long history of producing teas. It could be traced back to Tang Dynasty, during which prosperous tea market already existed. Keemun Black Tea is one of ten famous tea in China. It is known as the boutique in Keemun products because of its tight shape, mellow taste and Keemun fragrance.

About Tea Famer

Mr. Jiang has been engaged in the black tea industry for over ten years. He and his workers are well known to produce some of China's most sought after Keemun teas, illustrated by their Keemun winning gold medal for best tea at the Shanghai World Expo.

Till now, his tea garden has about 2,500 acres of tea gardens, including about 1,400 that have been independently certified as organic. His gardens are all at about 1,200ft elevation, surrounded by high, forest covered mountains – perfect to ensure an ideal, mild, wet, climate for growing tea, and. have also had ISO9001 certification since 2008 and in 2009 began their own limited exporting.

Tea Tree Species

Keemun Zhuye(槠叶) (sexually reproducing species), also called Keemun Species

Chemical composition of fresh tea leaf: 31.11% polyphenols, 14.66% Catechins, 5.42 % amino acid, 44.72% Water extract. It’s suitable for making black tea and green tea. Kung Fu Black Tea, which is made from the Keemun species, is tight and dark, and has long-last aftertaste and unique fruity floral flavor, which is called Keemun Fragrance.

History

Keemun has a short – by Chinese standards – history that begun in 1875 in Qimen.  An unsuccessful bureaucrat by the name of Yu Gancheng decided to quit working for the government and try his hand at tea making.  Due to the great demand and high prices for black teas at the time, he travelled to Fujian to learn how to make black tea.  Returning to Anhui he introduced black teas to the area, that up until then had just made green teas.  Over the next decade or so, the process and tea continuously improved, culminating in 1883 with what is now known as Keemun black tea.

The amazing taste and aroma of this tea, combined with good marketing, combined to make this tea an instant hit, and was in huge demand overseas in England and the US.  It won international prize in 1915 Panamanian world Expos.