Keemun tea
Encyclopedia
Keemun is a black
Chinese
tea
with a wine
y and fruit
y taste
, designated as a China Famous Tea
.
of Huangshan City, in Anhui
(Anhwei) province. ("Keemun" has been the English spelling for "Qimen" since the colonial era.)
Keemun has a relatively short history. It was first produced in 1875 by a failed civil servant, Yu Quianchen, after he traveled to Fujian
province to learn the secrets of black tea production. Prior to that, only green tea
was made in Anhui. The result exceeded his expectations, and the excellent Keemun tea quickly gained popularity in England
, and became the most prominent ingredient of the English Breakfast tea
blend.
of Keemun is fruity, with hints of pine
, dried plum
and floweriness (but not at all as floral as Darjeeling tea
) which creates the very distinctive and balanced taste. It also displays a hint of orchid fragrance and the so-called 'China tea sweetness. The tea can have a more bitter taste and the smokiness can be more defined depending on the variety and how it was processed.
Keemun is typically drunk without milk or sugar; outside China it may also be taken with milk.
Black tea
Black tea is a variety of tea that is more oxidized than the oolong, green, and white varieties.All four varieties are made from leaves of the shrub Camellia sinensis. Black tea is generally stronger in flavor and contains more caffeine than the less oxidized teas. Two principal varieties of the...
Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
tea
Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
with a wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
y and fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
y taste
Taste
Taste is one of the traditional five senses. It refers to the ability to detect the flavor of substances such as food, certain minerals, and poisons, etc....
, designated as a China Famous Tea
China Famous Tea
China's Famous Teas or The Ten Great Chinese Teas is a list of ten notable Chinese teas. Contrary to popular belief, there is no steadfast list...
.
History
Keemun is produced in the Qimen CountyQimen County
Qimen County is a county in Anhui Province, People's Republic of China, under the jurisdiction of Huangshan City. It has a population of 190,000 and an area of . The government of Qimen County is located in Qishan Town....
of Huangshan City, in Anhui
Anhui
Anhui is a province in the People's Republic of China. Located in eastern China across the basins of the Yangtze River and the Huai River, it borders Jiangsu to the east, Zhejiang to the southeast, Jiangxi to the south, Hubei to the southwest, Henan to the northwest, and Shandong for a tiny...
(Anhwei) province. ("Keemun" has been the English spelling for "Qimen" since the colonial era.)
Keemun has a relatively short history. It was first produced in 1875 by a failed civil servant, Yu Quianchen, after he traveled to Fujian
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
province to learn the secrets of black tea production. Prior to that, only green tea
Green tea
Green tea is made solely from the leaves of Camellia sinensis that have undergone minimal oxidation during processing. Green tea originates from China and has become associated with many cultures throughout Asia. It has recently become more widespread in the West, where black tea is traditionally...
was made in Anhui. The result exceeded his expectations, and the excellent Keemun tea quickly gained popularity in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and became the most prominent ingredient of the English Breakfast tea
English Breakfast tea
English Breakfast tea is a traditional blend of select teas originating from Assam, Ceylon and Kenya. It is one of the most popular blended teas...
blend.
Tasting and brewing
The aromaOdor
An odor or odour is caused by one or more volatilized chemical compounds, generally at a very low concentration, that humans or other animals perceive by the sense of olfaction. Odors are also commonly called scents, which can refer to both pleasant and unpleasant odors...
of Keemun is fruity, with hints of pine
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
, dried plum
Plum
A plum or gage is a stone fruit tree in the genus Prunus, subgenus Prunus. The subgenus is distinguished from other subgenera in the shoots having a terminal bud and solitary side buds , the flowers in groups of one to five together on short stems, and the fruit having a groove running down one...
and floweriness (but not at all as floral as Darjeeling tea
Darjeeling tea
Darjeeling tea is a black tea from the Darjeeling region in West Bengal, India. When properly brewed, it yields a thin-bodied, light-colored infusion with a floral aroma...
) which creates the very distinctive and balanced taste. It also displays a hint of orchid fragrance and the so-called 'China tea sweetness. The tea can have a more bitter taste and the smokiness can be more defined depending on the variety and how it was processed.
Keemun is typically drunk without milk or sugar; outside China it may also be taken with milk.
Varieties
- Keemun Gongfu or Congou (祁門功夫) - Made with careful skill ("gongfu") to produce thin, tight strips without breaking the leaves.
- Keemun Mao Feng (祁門毛峰) - A variety, where Mao Feng means Fur Peak, which is made of only slightly twisted leaf buds and is sometimes noted for a smoother and different flavor. Many people prefer to brew a smaller quantity of this tea for a longer time than usual, up to 7 minutes, to bring out more interesting tones in the tea.
- Keemun Xin Ya (祁門新芽) - The early bud variety, said to have less bitterness.
- Keemun Hao Ya (祁門毫芽) - A variety known for its fine buds, sometimes showing prominent amounts of silver tips, and generally the highest grade. Hao Ya is sometimes graded into A and B, where A is the better grade.
- Hubei Keemun (湖北祁門) - Not a true Keemun, a variety that comes from the Hubei ProvinceHubei' Hupeh) is a province in Central China. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Lake Dongting...
west of AnhuiAnhuiAnhui is a province in the People's Republic of China. Located in eastern China across the basins of the Yangtze River and the Huai River, it borders Jiangsu to the east, Zhejiang to the southeast, Jiangxi to the south, Hubei to the southwest, Henan to the northwest, and Shandong for a tiny...
, said to have similar qualities to the AnhuiAnhuiAnhui is a province in the People's Republic of China. Located in eastern China across the basins of the Yangtze River and the Huai River, it borders Jiangsu to the east, Zhejiang to the southeast, Jiangxi to the south, Hubei to the southwest, Henan to the northwest, and Shandong for a tiny...
Keemun.