Keemun

Maofeng is definitely giving me a lot of pleasure at the moment, too. I have a good batch from a recent trip to Chengdu which smells delicious (as in wonderfully fruity) while being smooth in flavour with an aromatic aftertaste that you're going to love. If you'll bear with me, I'll see if I can dig up the details of it for you.

Maofeng is a lovely tea for this kind of year (assuming that it's hot where you are at the moment!). Great choice.

Toodlepip,

Hobbes

KMF is usually considered either the top of the line Keemun, or one of two top of the line Keemuns, the other being Keemun Hao Ya (sometimes available in 'A' and 'B' variations). I love both. To me, the KHY is a "stronger" or "punchier" taste, the KMF a considerably milder one, but that can depend on how you brew the KHY. KMF and KHY are quite different in character, and good examples of both are very worthwhile. They are also usually the most expensive Keemuns.

Upton and Harney and TeaSource usually have both KHY 'A' and 'B' (Upton also has a selection of other Keemuns). Special Teas has a KHY 'A'. Rishi and Imperial Tea Court have a KHY, as does Plymouth Tea (though I believe they are waiting for a shipment of a new batch). Seven Cups has an extensive selection of good Keemuns, though they don't call them by any Chinese name.

In my experience, Keemun Mao Feng and Keemun Hao Ya are so much better than any other type of Keemun that I hardly ever try any other kind, and am almost always disappointed when I do.

Doug

I was acutally rather dissapointed with the most recent crop of keemun mao feng and hao ya A (and B for that matter). I found it very smokey, like how I smell after I come home from camping or re-enacting. I'm glad you liked it though Jen! I can hardly wait for next years crop and your opinion on it! Marlene

I have a good batch from a recent trip to Chengdu

Hobbes,please note that the real Keemun Maofeng only comes from Keemun,Anhui,China. The keemun Maofeng keeps the unique flavor because that tea leaves from this place have special propertites which are related to the native clamite, tea plant,soil and such a like.Strictly speaking,the place of Keemun are unique and no other place can take place of it.

Although not my favorite vendor by far, SpecialTeas in years past had some most excellent Keemun. Silk Road Teas has some quite inexpensive Keemun in their stocks, but it does present a bit of smoke, which might not be to your liking. They also have a rich wonderous, albeit light, Keemun they call "Red Peach." (I speak of the David Hoffman/Ned Hegarty SRT in California.)

Best news is that you can keep Keemun for a good long time, and it will only get better. So, when you find that special offering, you can stock up, and not worry about the tea going stale, provided you store it well.

Michael

Wow - I had no idea Keemun would improve with age. Are there other teas, beside Puer, that improve with age? Everything I've read says to consume tea within a couple of years.

Jennifer

Michael Plant wrote:

Hi Jennifer,

It's important to say here that Keemun, unlike Pu'erh, can't be stashed away for years and years -- to my knowledge, that is; rather, a year or two of age seems to bring out its soft chocolate qualities. WuYi teas are also candidates for holding months before drinking, but only those that have been roasted well. I'm hearing that Dan Congs (Phoenix Mts) also take well to some age, but again, not at the Pu'erh level where 30 years is really good and

50 years is excellent. And yesterday I saw pictures of several cakes over 150 years old.

Michael, rambling

I have many teas that are 20-30 years old. I can't possibly finish everything I buy. Everytime I try one it has taste and aroma. I never threw anything away because I thought it was stale. Do they taste better now than then, I don't know. I do have one 30 year old SowMee that doesn't look or taste like something recent. I attribute that to age. One thing that Puer has tought me, it is the crop that contributes to the taste from recent years. I suspect that is also the case for older puer. I do see benefits from airing out puer but the yeasties needs oxygen like the rest of us.

Jim

Michael Plant wrote:

Hold those teas, Jim. As the ancient tea trend hits each one, sell it for a fortune. Get the last laugh. It's bound to happen. Michael

I wished I would have kept those sales slips. Only in the last five years have I started to do so. My favorite version of Who Knows Where The Time Goes is Sandy Denny and Fairport Convention. She makes Joni Mitchell sound like a whiner.

Jim

PS Am I the > > I have many teas that are 20-30 years old. I can't possibly finish

[Michael] And yesterday I saw pictures of several cakes over 150 years old. [Jing] Cakes? I thought that the cakes were started to be produced during the very late of the Qing Dynasty to "Min Guo (started from 1912)", before that, puerh tea was a tribute tea that was consumed by the royal familly only. And, the shape was the "Jin Gua (gold melon)" like shape that were made by puerh tea buds. Those only two pieces of Qing Dynasty tribute "Jin Gua" that are still avaiable in the museume now are barely 120 year old...I wonder what are the cakes on the pictures that you saw? Thanks!

About the Keemun, yes! You can keep it for a couple of years without any problem. The liquor will become very smooth and its signature fruity (mature apple flavor for me) flavor is still yielding...However, if you want to store a red tea for aging, the Wuyi Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong (lapsang souchong) would be a better choice. Just try one from

1994 today, it was still very tasty...even it is a "lower grading (bigger leaves)" one. Slightly smoky hint with its typical dry fruit flavor, yummie!

Jing

Michael Plant wrote:

Well, after all, she wrote it. Quite early in her tragically short career, even.

I'd speculate on her preference in tea, but it doesn't get much mention in the recent biography, and one suspects that New England Tea was more to her taste.

-DM

snipped-for-privacy@y41g2000cwy.googlegroups.com6/24/06

10:52sebastien snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.fr

I think it *was* tribute tea and in the melon form at that. I used the word "cake" too loosely. Sorry. I'll get more specific information Tuesday and pass it on to you.

Jing, are we talking about WuYi improvement or just minimal degradation? I really like several 20 or so year old WuYi teas I've drunk lately, a Ti Lohan especially. Very nice, and quite different from its newly made counterpart.

Michael

Joni released it first in 68. Sandy and Fairport in 69. She wrote and recoprded the song with the Strawbs in 67 but not released till 73. She was no Janis Joplin. She got married to a record producer, had a child. She died in 78 at the age of 31 from a fall down the stairs in a home.

Jim

DogMa wrote: