Thank you to Dan for pointing this out to me. After Dan’s comment, I checked a couple of my books about tea and discovered that yes, I was completely wrong. And I felt a bit silly, until I ran a Google search for keemum tea and found 411,000 results ? a figure that outnumbers the 378,000 currently being returned for keemun tea.

Seems I’m not the only one who’s a little confused.

So to all you who have stumbled across this on a quest to rectify your ignorance, I assure you: It’s keemun, not keemum.

By the way, one reason I’m posting this is to try to fix a problem with my RSS feed, which isn’t updating as it should. Let me know if any of you are noticing some funny stuff.

© Eric for Tea Finely Brewed, 2009. | Keemun, not Keemum | 2 comments |
Post categories: Black tea
Post tags: Keemum, keemun

Long-time readers of this blog will be well aware of my fondness for black teas. While I concede that black tea doesn’t ? for the most part ? have the depth or range you can find in other types of tea, I remain an avowed fan of our fully oxidized friend. This morning, with heavy eyes from too little sleep, I decided to turn my attention to one of the most well-regarded of all black teas: keemun.

Keemun is a region in Anhui Province, China, near the city of Huangshan and the Huang Shan Mountains (where one finds the teahouse I featured several weeks ago). It’s a temperate, wet area where tea grows amidst rain-soaked clouds and mist.

I have two Keemun teas to sample today: Narien Teas’ Keemun Imperial and Teas Etc’s Keemun. Note to the FTC and those readers who care: Both these teas were sent to me as free samples.

Keemun Imperial by Narien Teas

The name of this tea is surely a throwback to the days of the Tang, Song, Ming and Qing Dynasties, when Keemun was one of the Imperial Tribute Teas. The emperor of the day commanded an exclusive right over the Imperial Tribute teas, which were given him by loyal followers for whom the ‘gift’ was little more than a tax payment.

Narien’s Keemun is a smooth black tea with a slight smokiness. It has a buttery note that reminds me of Yunnan’s black teas, though the butteriness is less pronounced than I find in Yunnan blacks.

Keemun was the original English Breakfast tea, and as I enjoy Narien’s version, I can see why. Keemun is wonderfully smooth, with a refinement that sets it apart from most black teas. These days, most English Breakfast teas are blends of black teas from different regions (the organic English Breakfast tea I reviewed earlier this year combined teas from Assam, Darjeeling and Ceylon, for example), but dipping into Keemun gives me a new-found appreciation for what must once have been a most wonderful blend.

Narien Teas’ Keemun Imperial is not my favourite Keemun, nor is it Narien’s best tea (my vote for that still goes to their wonderful Earl Grey tea). While it is quite smooth, I find that it doesn’t have as much depth as I would like.

Keemun Imperial is available from Narien Teas for $11 for 4 oz.

Keemum by Teas Etc

Teas Etc have garnered quite a reputation over the past few years. Earlier this year, they won two gold prizes at the World Tea Expo for their Assam Reserve and Ceylon OP1. This Keemun didn’t win any prizes, but black tea certainly seems to be one of their strengths.

The first thing that I notice about this keemun as opposed to the Narien Teas’ version is the size and shape of the leaves. Whereas the Narien Teas Imperial Keemun is composed of small, mostly broken leaves, Teas Etc’s Keemun has some longer, twisted leaves. As it turns out, this has quite an impact on the tea’s flavour.

Teas Etc’s Keemun has a lighter colour than the Narien Keemun (though this could have something to do with the amount of dry leaf I used). It has a lovely aroma of fruit and smoke. Like Narien’s Keemun, this one is very smooth, but it has a rounder, more balanced mouthfeel. A lingering sweetness gives it fruity notes while there is a certain delicacy to it that is almost floral.

Keemun is available from Teas Etc for $5.95 for a 1 oz. tin.

© Eric for Tea Finely Brewed, 2009. | Keemun Double-Header: Keemun by Narien Teas and Teas Etc | 2 comments |
Post categories: Black tea, Tea reviews
Post tags: Keemum, Narien Teas, tea samplers, Teas Etc

The morning cup of black tea. Photo by dragonflysky.

What is black tea, exactly?

Black tea is tea that has been fully oxidized. Like oolong, white, green and pu-erh teas, black tea is made from Camellia sinensis.

Black tea is so named because of the fact that the tea leaves, after the oxidation process is complete, have a darker appearance than other teas. The brew ranges in colour from amber to golden, depending on the type of tea and how strong it is.

To the uninitiated, black tea is synonymous with tea. But while it’s the most common tea found outside of Asia, in reality black tea is second to green tea in terms of global popularity.

In China, black tea is known as red tea, while pu-erh tea is known as black tea. Confusing hey?

Where is black tea grown?

Black tea is grown and produced just about anywhere that tea is produced. China, India, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Kenya, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia – all are major producers of black tea.

Japan is notable because it produces hardly any black tea, while Taiwan puts out a small quantity of black tea which is mainly sold domestically.

What are some of the most famous types of black tea?

Chinese black teas
China’s black teas are varied and markedly different from the black teas produced elsewhere. Keemum is a fragrant, beautifully flavoured black tea coming from Anhui Province, in eastern China. Lapsang Souchong is a very dark tea with a distinctive smokey flavour, hailing from the Wuyi region of Fujian Province. In far southwest China, bordering Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam, is Yunnan Province, a region of stunning scenery that produces full-flavoured black teas with a unique character.

Indian black teas
More than half of India’s teas are produced in Assam, a state in northeast India. Assam produces some high-quality tea, but much of its tea is of a lower grade, often used as the base of the well-known breakfast tea blends (English, Irish and Scottish). Darjeeling, a region of India which lies wedged between Bhutan and Nepal at an elevation of 7,100 feet, has a much lower output of tea, but makes up for it in quality. The high standard of teas from Darjeeling have given it a reputation as the Champage of Teas. The southern-most tea region of India is Nilgiri, which lies in western India in the state of Tamil Nadu. Nilgiri teas are fragrant, though the quality of teas from Nilgiri is generally not as high as those from Assam and Darjeeling.

Other famous black teas
Ceylon (Sri Lanka) is renowned for producing brisk black teas sold as single-estate teas or used in blends. Indonesia produces a large quantity of tea used in tea bags, though it has a limited output of finer loose leaf tea. In recent decades, African nations like Kenya and Tanzania have also risen to prominence as major tea producing countries.

Besides these region-specific teas, there are a multitude of black tea blends which you will undoubtedly have heard of. Besides the breakfast blends mentioned above, some of the most popular include Earl Grey (scented with bergamot oil), Lady Grey (scented with bergamot oil and blended with orange and lemon peel), Prince of Wales and Russian Caravan (usually a combination of Lapsang Souchong and Keemum or Yunnan).

What’s the best way to brew black tea?

Black tea is best brewed with freshly boiled water at around 80-90° C. Allow it to stand anywhere between 3 and 5 minutes, depending on how strong you like your tea to be. Unlike the other varieties of tea, black tea is usually only good for one steeping.

Many people have their black tea with milk and/or sugar. I shy away from both of these. If the tea’s not good enough to drink on its own, I figure it’s just not good enough to drink!

What are the health benefits of drinking black tea?

There are definite health benefits to drinking black tea. Recent research has shown that black tea can improve dental health, reduce stress, improve your memory, lower cholesterol levels, reduce the risk of heart disease, inhibit Alzheimer’s disease and improve mental focus. The oxidation process means that black tea contains less of the antioxidants that green tea contains, though a study by Chinese researchers found that black tea contained more theaflavins and thearubigins, which can have anti-allergy, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer properties.

Does black tea contain caffeine?

Like every other tea produced from Camellia sinensis, black tea contains caffeine. Many people are under the impression that black tea contains more than all the other varieties of tea, though, as I have written previously, this isn’t always the case. The level of caffeine in any given cup of black tea depends on how it was produced and how long it is allowed to steep, among other things.

More on this topic: How much caffeine does green tea contain?

Where can I buy black tea online?

To begin with, check out the Tea Finely Brewed marketplace, where you can browse and compare black tea from different tea merchants.

• Numi Tea offer fair trade, organic teas, including a lovely range of black teas.
• Adagio Teas have a diverse range of black teas available, including a Black Sampler which serves as a great introduction to the world of black tea.
• Mighty Leaf Tea also have a nice range of black teas.
• Generation Tea have some unusual and rare black tea offerings, well worth trying if you’re looking for something a little different.

Other posts in this series

• Green Tea
• White Tea
• Oolong Tea
• Pu-erh Tea

© eric for Tea Finely Brewed, 2009. | 7 Common Questions About Black Tea | 3 comments |
Post categories: Black tea
Post tags: Assam, Beginner's Guide to Tea, caffeine content of tea, Ceylon Tea, chinese teas, Darjeeling, Earl Grey Tea, Indian teas, Indonesian teas, Keemum, Kenyan teas, Lady Grey tea, Lapsang Souchong, Nilgiri, Prince of Wales tea, Russian Caravan tea, Tanzanian teas, Tea and health, Yunnan