Keemun by Teakan
Black Tea / Straight
$30.00 for 65g
Keemun is part of Teakan’s Volume 5 Exploration Kit, a collection of five single origin teas. Keemun makes up 15g of the 65g kit.
First Impressions
Always willing to try a tea from Teakan, this is Keemun and is one of the five single original teas from their Volume 5 Exploration Kit – who would have thought the duo behind Teakan would be on their fifth curated collection already? As always, Keemun comes in a sealed, resealable pouch with a minimalistic label in black and white.
Keemun has wiry short dark leaves, with a few light honey coloured tips throughout. Keemun comes from Huangshan, Anhui, China, and was harvested in spring of 2021. Literally translating to “yellow mountain”, Huangshan is a mountain range in China that is a designated World Heritage Site and a major tourist location due to the beautiful mountain ranges with over 50km of footpaths (that’s 31 miles!). The aroma of Keemun is lightly floral.
Preparation
Teakan recommends steeping Keemun in 90°C (194°F) water for western style steeping, with an initial steep of 2 to 3 minutes or 95°C (203°F) water for gongfu style steeping with an initial steep of 20 seconds. I opted to steep Keemun in the western style with an initial steep of 2 minutes.
First Taste
Keemun steeps to a deep orange, with an aroma to it that reminds me of floral sweetness. The flavour of Keemun is malty, almost yeasty, and has a dry mouthfeel to it. There’s no astringency, no bitterness, based on the 2 minute initial steep that I did. I found the flavour to be pleasant – with the floral notes adding a nice level of sweetness to it.
A Second Cup?
Resteeping Keemun was fun! I did five resteeps of the same leaves (six steeps total), and added an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. I found that the flavour stayed pretty similar to the initial steep, and the floral notes held up well with all the subsequent steeps – along with the malty flavours. I would recommend resteep Keemun if you have the time to do so.
My Overall Impression
I loved Teakan’s Keemun. The way this black tea steeps works for a smooth cup of tea, and resteeping it makes for a good value when you get good cups of tea after the first one. Keemun has a great flavour profile, and the floral notes just make for a nice cup of tea! It’s got some nuances to it that I enjoy – especially the malty finish.
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