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Keemun Concerto from Adiago Teas


Keemun Concerto
200
reviews
85
rating

Description

Black tea from the Anhui province of China. Perhaps the most famous of Chinese varieties, prized for its rich, toasty flavor, mineral flinty notes and smoky, almost incense aroma. Our Keemun Concerto steeps a beautiful, fiery amber red, with a smoky aroma and earthy, smooth flavor. Clean finish and very mellow.

Story

Qimen is a county inside China's Anhui province, and Keemun tea is a variant of the name 'Qimen.' Until about a century ago, this region produced only green tea, which was unremarkable at best. However, once the local farmers switched to the manufacture of black tea, the results were a much better fit. Keemun teas come in a wide range of quality, some quite pedestrian, some simply sublime. The finer grades of this tea are known as Keemun Mao Feng and Keemun Hao Ya. Both are produced in very small quantities, making them pricey, but often well worth it."

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3 comments:

Michael said...

When my envelope came, I giggled a little at the thought of my local postmistress being suspicious of leafy substances in baggies being sent in the mail.

But, there within was my Keemun Concerto, roughly two teaspoons worth of tiny blackish leaves with a mild scent. Being sick, I wanted to wait a while to fully appreciate the brew, and finally had an opportunity today to fire up the kettle.

I used a two cup measuring cup, and warmed it with the boiling water (then tipped into the sink) before putting the leaves and fresh water in (only 12 oz). I let it sit around 4 minutes before tipping out my first cup without any additions. I left the second cup to continue brewing while I tasted.

My first scent was sweet, very black-tea in character, but mild... almost like an oolong. I almost thought I should have let it go a full 5 minutes or so, but all in all I immediately thought it would be wonderful with cookies or toast. Definitely something a group of people could sit around a large potful and drink several cups worth.

I paired it with a mix of peanut butter and shelled hempseed over king arthur gluten free bread my wife had made. I was worried the peanut butter would overpower it, but it worked quite well.

There was absultely no bitterness at all in the tea, so I figured I'd venture into the longer brewed (almost 8 minutes) second cup.

A sip revealed no more bitterness, so I dropped a little sugar in to see what that might bring out. This immediately rewarded me with the floral notes described in the letter.

A went ahead and dropped another 6 or so ounces of cooler water on the leaves and have to say that the second brewing was still pleasant without being bitter.

Again, something to share with conversation. Very comforting. Nice caffeine kick as well.

-MJ

Lesha said...

WONDERFUL post Michael!!
Check out this lovely shot of it brewed in a glass.....

http://campl.us/CCl

ThePeachTree said...

I was surprised at home much I like this tea! I had seen it on the Adagio Website before and from the reviews and description, I always thought I would get smoked out by the aroma/taste.

But I really liked it! Very awakening and pleasantly smooth :)

Thank you for sharing!