Tag: Teakan

Red Plum Black by Teakan
Black Tea / Straight
$30.00 for 65g

Red Plum Black is part of Teakan’s Volume 5 Exploration Kit, a collection of five single origin teas. Red Plum Black makes up 15g of the 65g kit.

First Impressions

As part of Teakan’s Volume 5, Red Plum Black came in a sealed, resealable kraft paper pouch with a black and white label. This black tea comes from Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China, and was harvested in spring of 2021. The aroma of this black tea reminds me of plum, stone fruit, and then with a light amount of floral.

The leaves of Red Plum Black are short, wiry, twisted and in dark shades of brown with pops of gold in the tips. The fruity aroma is much stronger once the leaves are out of the bag, and it reminds me of candied plums – just a bit of the childhood coming back to the front of my mind.

Preparation

Teakan recommends steeping Red Plum Black in 90°C (194°F) for 2 to 3 minutes if steeping western style or 95°C (203°F) for 45 seconds if steeping gongfu style.

I opted to do an initial steep of Red Plum Black in 90°C water for 2 minutes.

First Taste

Red Plum Black steeps to a lovely golden orange colour with a crisp, stone fruit aroma. It is fragrant and inviting, with a nice fruity aroma that is quite inviting. The flavour of the tea is fruity with a surprisingly floral finish at the end of each sip. There’s a natural honeyed sweetness which is enjoyable, and it has a smooth mouthfeel. I find that there’s no maltiness, astringency or bitterness for the length of time I steeped Red Plum Black for.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Red Plum Black seven times (eight steeps total with the same leaves). I added an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. I found that the flavour got more fruity and less floral with each steep, but started to weaken in amount of flavour after the third resteep. The sweetness lessens by the second resteep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Teakan’s Red Plum Black. It was a pleasant experience from start to finish – enjoying the aroma of the dry leave, tasting the tea for the first time, and then having all the resteeps of the same leaves. It’s lovely to experience the subtle changes in the flavour with each steep, and I truly enjoyed getting to sip this tea over the course of an afternoon. I think it would be a lovely traditional black tea to introduce someone to, who’s normally used to black tea blends.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.

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.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.

Zhengshan Xiaozhong by Teakan
Black Tea / Straight
$30.00 for 65g

Zhengshan Xiaoshong is part of Teakan’s Volume 5 Exploration Kit, a collection of five single origin teas. Zhengshan Xiaoshong makes up 10g of the 65g kit.

First Impressions

Zhengshan Xiaozhong came as part of the fifth Exploration Kit from Teakan, and this black tea came in a sealed, resealable kraft paper pouch with the usual (from Teakan) minimalistic white and black label. This black tea comes from Wuyishan, Fujian, China and was harvested in spring 2021. Zhengshan Xiaozhong, also known as lapsang souchoung, is known for being a smoked black tea that often reminds people of a campfire – this one is unsmoked so it lacks that camp fire quality.

The leaves are wiry, and deep shades of dark green to brown to deep, deep black. The aroma of the leaves is floral, woodsy, it reminds me of a walk through a local park that has a lot of cedar and hemlock. It has a lovely aroma, and it’s quite inviting with the floral notes. I definitely prefer the aroma of this tea to a traditional smoked lapsang souchong. Interesting enough, lapsang souchong – a traditionally smoked tea, is banned in Europe due to the smoking process adding a residue to the tea (but that’s also why there’s lapsang souchong produced with smoke flavouring).

Preparation

Teakan recommends steeping Zhengshan Xiaozhong in 90°C (194°F) water for 2 to 3 minutes (or 30 seconds for gongfu steeping). I opted to do an initial steep for 2 minutes.

First Taste

Zhengshan Xiaozhong steeps to a golden orange. The aroma is floral, woodsy, and almost a bit mossy. It reminds me still of a walk in a park, surrounded by trees. The flavour of this black tea is floral, lightly sweet, woodsy – just like the way it smells. It has a nice smoothness to it, no bitterness, and there’s a pleasant light astringency at the tail end of each sip. I find the mouthfeel pleasant, the floral flavour really shines through.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Zhengshan Xiaozhong five times (six steeps total), adding 30 seconds for each subsequent steep.  The tea does really well with resteeps, and has a great flavour profile that stays consistent for each steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Teakan’s Zhengshan Xiaozhong. This black tea tastes delicious, and does well with resteeping. I find the flavour is great – the floral and woodsy flavour just holds up well. I also greatly prefer the unsmoked variety of a lapsang souchong, mostly because some varieties taste very strong and make me think I’m drinking liquid smoke. The floral notes are pleasant, sweet, and I would highly recommend resteeping this unsmoked lapsang souchong.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.