Keemum Black Tea

Other Notes:  Keemum Black Tea is one of the most fragrant Black Teas, along with Indian Darjeeling and Assam teas and Ceylon Uva black tea. It was first discovered/created in 1875 in Qimen County of China. It has slim cut appearance and mild mellow taste. And its unique lingering flowery and creamy flavor is the best match for making black tea with added milk.

In China, there is only a small place able to produce this precious black tea, which is Keemun  County （祁门县）of Anhui Province. In 1875, the retired low-ranking imperial official Yu Gan-chen invented the Keemun Black Tea  (祁门红茶) in his hometown Keemun County (祁门县).

Yu Gan-chen

Yu Gan-chen used to serve as a tea tax official in Fujian. In Fujian he learned the processing of Tan Yang Gong Fu Black Tea, and as a tea tax official he knew the high profit of tea business at that time. So, after his retirement he decided to develop the tea business in his hometown. Before the creation of Keemun Black Tea, the Keemun county was producing primarily green teas. The workers Yu Gan-chen hired from Fujian used the Keemun tea material to process black tea. It turned out to be a huge success. The outstanding quality of Keemun tea leaf and the ingenious skills of the tea workers made this new Keemun Black Tea a fantastic quality tea. It had an exceptionally fine, smooth and fruity fragrance, with a pure sharp and mellow taste.

Keemun County is located in the South Anhui and South Anhui is one of the best tea growing areas in China. South Anhui produces the other famous Chinese teas such as Huang Shan Mao Feng, Tai Ping Hou Kui, Liu An Gua Pian, Huo Shan Huang Ya and Tong Xi Huo Qing. The South Anhui region has beautiful natural flora and it is covered by dense forestry.

Keemun County Scenery

The Plucking and Processing of Keemun Black Tea

Keemun Black Tea is made by the Keemun County local small leaf tea cultivar Zhuyezhong. 

The Tea Cultivar Zhuyezhong

The harvesting season is during the Qingming Festival 清明节 (in the beginning of April). The ideal leaf for making Keemun Black Tea is one bud/one leaf and one bud/two leaves.  One bud/three leaves will also be picked to make the lower grade Keemun Black Tea.

Withering: The freshly picked fresh leaves will be sent for withering. The leaves are put on bamboo beds in thin layers. This natural withering will last several hours. Once the water content of the leaves is around 60%, the withering will stop.

Rolling: After withering, the tea leaves will become soft and ready for rolling. The traditional rolling process is done by hand. The rolling breaks the cells of the tea leaves and the moisture and liquid is released which produces a reaction with oxygen. This is the process of oxidisation. The rolling also shapes the tightly round tea body.

Oxidisation: The rolled tea leaves are then put in the bamboo baskets for further oxidisation. A wet cloth is often used to cover the surface to keep a relatively high moisture for the oxidisation. This process will last around 10 hours. However, it needs the workers’ experience and insight to decide the critical point of the oxidisation under the different moisture, temperature and ventilation variations. Generally, when the leaves turn a bright copper red color and start to release a mild ripe apple-like  aroma, the oxidisation is complete and needs to be halted quickly at that point

Baking: After the oxidisation process, the tea leaves are spread out to cool down for a while and then sent for baking. The traditional drying uses charcoal heat. But, modern processing techniques have adopted electric baking machines. During the traditional drying, the tea leaves are spread evenly over the surface of a bamboo baking cage and the charcoal is burnt under the cage. This traditional charcoal baking needs very careful monitoring by the tea makers to control the heat and temperature and also ensure that no smoke is allowed to penetrate the tea leaves. It is generally accepted that the traditional charcoal baking by skilled tea makers will produce a better flavor and taste in Keemun Black Tea than electric baking. A high quality Keemun Black Tea will have a fruity sweet flavor and a very smooth taste.

After baking, the primary processing of Keemun Black Tea is finished. This is called Mao Cha (unrefined) Keemun Black Tea.

This Mao Cha will then go through the refining process. This process will sort the tea into several grades. And the tea body will be more finely short. This was done in the past for ease of transportation – making the tea less bulky.

 Some different grades of Keemun Black Tea.

And a final brew of Keemun Black Tea.

Dry Leaf
Color: Black
Shape/size: Evenly cut slim and straight

Brewed Tea
Color: Red
Aroma: Flowery creamy
Body Taste: Mild mellow

Suggested Brewing (adjust according to personal preferences)
Water Temperature: 95-100°C/203-212°F
Amount: 3g per 150ml teacup
Steeping Time: 1-2 minutes
# of Infusions: 2-3 infusions