Keemun () is a famous Chinese

black tea Black tea, also translated to red tea in various East Asian languages, is a type of tea that is more oxidized than oolong, yellow, white and green teas. Black tea is generally stronger in flavour than other teas. All five types are made from ...

. First produced in the late 19th century, it quickly became popular in the West and is still used for a number of classic blends. It is a light tea with characteristic stone fruit and slightly smoky notes in the aroma and a gentle, malty, non-astringent taste reminiscent of unsweetened cocoa. Keemun is said to have floral aromas and wooden notes.

History

Original Keemun is produced exclusively in the

Qimen County Qimen County (; alternately romanized as Keemun) is a county in the southeast of Anhui Province, People's Republic of China, bordering Jiangxi Province to the southwest. It is the westernmost county-level division of the prefecture-level city of ...

in the south of

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze Riv ...

province. It is grown in Guichi, Shitai, Dongzhi, and Yixian. The name of the tea is an older Western spelling of the name of the nearby town, Qimen (pronounced "Chee-mun"). The tea-growing region lies between the Yellow Mountains and the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...

. The cultivar used for Keemun is the same as that used in production of

Huangshan Maofeng Huangshan Maofeng tea (; pronounced ) is a green tea produced in south eastern interior Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial ...

. While the latter is an old, well-known variety of green tea, Keemun was first produced in 1875 using techniques adapted from

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its ...

province farmers. Many varieties of Keemun exist, with different production techniques used for each. Nevertheless, any Keemun undergoes particularly slow withering and oxidation processes, yielding more nuanced aroma and flavor. Some of Keemun's characteristic floral notes can be attributed to a higher proportion of

geraniol Geraniol is a monoterpenoid and an alcohol. It is the primary component of citronella oil and is a primary component of rose oil, palmarosa oil. It is a colorless oil, although commercial samples can appear yellow. It has low solubility in w ...

, compared to other black teas.

Varieties

Among the many varieties of Keemun perhaps the most well-known is ''Keemun Mao Feng'' (). Harvested earlier than others, and containing leafsets of two leaves and a bud, it is lighter and sweeter than other Keemun teas. Another high grade variety, containing mostly leaves and stronger than others, is the ''Keemun Hao Ya'' (). For Western markets, it is separated by quality into Hao Ya A and Hao Ya B categories, the former being somewhat better than the latter. Either has a markedly intense taste. Other varieties include those specifically tailored for the

Gongfu tea ceremony The gongfu tea ceremony or kung fu tea ceremony ( or ), is a type of Chinese tea ceremony, involving the ritual preparation and presentation of tea. It is probably based on the tea preparation approaches originated in Fujian and the Chaoshan area ...

(''Keemun Gongfu'', or ''Congou'' – ) and ''Keemun Xin Ya'' (), an early bud variety, said to have less bitterness. One of the black teas produced in neighboring

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The p ...

province is sometimes referred to as a ''Hubei Keemun'' () by several tea companies, but is not a Keemun in the true sense of the term.

References

External links

Tea Guardian: Qimen Maofeng (Keemun Black Tea)
{{Teas Black tea Chinese teas Chinese tea grown in Anhui Huangshan City