Keemun

Keemun (Chinese祁门 红茶/祁门 红茶, Pinyin Qimen Hongcha, Cantonese keimoon hungcha, Qimen - Red - Tea ' ) is a black tea from China with a winey and fruity taste, which of the ten most famous Chinese Teas (中国 名茶) heard.

History

Keemun is produced in Qimen ( Huangshan ) in Anhui Province. ( " Keemun " was the English transliteration for " Qimen " during the colonial period. )

Keemun has a relatively short history. It was first produced in 1875 by the failed officials Yu Quianchen after he had traveled to the province of Fujian to know the secrets of the production of black tea. Previously, only green tea in Anhui was grown. The result exceeded his expectations and the excellent Keemun tea quickly gained popularity in England and was the outstanding ingredient of the English Breakfast tea blend.

Taste and preparation

The aroma of Keemun is fruity (but not in any way so as flowery Darjeeling tea ), which produces with a hint of pine, dried plum and flowery / abundance of flowers the very distinctive and balanced taste. He also has a touch of orchid fragrance and the so-called 'Chinese Teesüße '. The tea can have a slightly bitter flavor and the smokiness may become more prominent depending on the variety and the processing conditions.

Keemun is usually drunk without milk and sugar; outside China sometimes with milk.

Varieties

• Keemun Gongfu or Congou (祁门 功夫) - with careful skill ( " gongfu " ) made ​​to produce thin, solid strips without breaking the leaves.
• Keemun Mao Feng (祁门 毛峰) - a variety, where Mao Feng means 1A - freshness that is made of only slightly twisted Blattsprösslingen and is sometimes characterized by a gentler and other seasoning. Many people prefer to prepare of this variety only a smaller amount and longer than usual, up to 7 minutes to bring more interesting nuances of the tea to the fore.
• Keemun Xin Ya (祁门 新芽) - The early buds places, which is said to be less bitter.
• Keemun Hao Ya (祁门 毫 芽) - A species that are known for their fine buds, sometimes has significant number of silver lace and generally of the highest degree. Hao Ya is sometimes classified into A and B, where A is the better degree.
• Hubei Keemun (湖北 祁门) - Spurious Keemun, a variety that comes from the west of Hubei, Anhui, should possess similar qualities as the Keemun from Anhui.