A Keemun Is a Keemun...Or Is It?

According to a history I found on the Tea Talk website, in the mid-1800s the Imperial Army was traveling through China's Anhui Province and needed to find shelter. They demanded entry to a tea processing plant and ordered the workers out, even though they were in the middle of processing green tea. The soldiers stayed overnight and then left. The workers returned to the factory and saw that the tea had fully oxidized to a black tea because it had not yet been fired to kill the enzymes. The Tea Master cupped it and was pleased and it has since been manufactured as a very tightly twisted black tea. It continues to be produced in Qimen County of the Anhui Province. It is also imitated in Taiwan and sold as Formosa Keemun.

From left to right: Indonique, Mark T. Wendell, and Upton Tea

I started with a (China) Keemun from Indonique. The leaf was small (OP?) and dark - almost black. The scent was smoky and woodsy with a slight citrus note. The brewed liquor was a mid brown with a hint of red. It was very bright and clear. I noticed that the smoky scent mellowed in the brewed tea. The steeped cup had a rich aroma with chocolate notes. The first sip of this tea was kind of unpleasant. I couldn't identify the flavors well. The second flavors were citrusy and orange-y. In later tastes I picked up notes of pine and there was a buttery aftertaste. What struck me most was that the flavors in this tea didn't meld together. They seemed to be competing in my mouth. Not my favorite.

I then tried Upton Tea's (China) Hao-Ya "A" Superfine Keemun. This is generally considered to be the highest grade Keemun. The leaf was black with many gold tips. It was extremely fine and wiry. A really beautiful dry leaf. The scent was quite subtle with a slight smoky, lemony quality. The liquor brewed to a honey brown and the aromas strengthened a bit. The flavor was subtle, but rich with a slight acidity. I noticed the crispness of an early Macintosh apple. There was a very long pleasant smoky aftertaste. An outstanding tea (with the price tag to match.)

The last of the three I tried was actually a Formosa (Taiwanese) Keemun from Mark T. Wendell. This was a completely different tea from the others as far as I'm concerned. It didn't look, smell, or taste the same. The leaf was very long, much thicker than the others, and silvery grey. The scent was a mix of peculiar things for me - asparagus, nuttiness, parsley. (I actually had to go to the spice cabinet to figure out what the smell reminded me of.) The liquor was quite amber, like an ale. The brewed tea continued to have a scent like dark green vegetables. The flavor reminded me of roasted chestnuts. I didn't get the smoky, citrusy flavors I noticed in the Chinese Keemuns.

Three companies, tea of the same name, completely different flavor profiles. The world of tea is never simple. I think the Upton Tea will likely continue to have a place in my tea cabinet.

Taken from http://teapages.blogspot.com/