What is qi men ( I assume Keemun) red tea?

Hi, all! In a recent recent to Monterey Park Wing Hop Fung, I bought a bit of "Qi Men Red Tea" #1187, $45.99 a pound. Very short, thin, wirey, brown pieces of leaf. After having a pot today and last evening, I realized that I really, really like this stuff. It's difficult to describe; slightly "shellac-y", rich, and even in its flavor from beginning to finish. Really good. The liquid itself is definitely red. My other Keemuns have been black. I'd appreciate any information available on Red Keemun. Thanks.

Reply to
Shen
Loading thread data ...

The short of it is: Qimen=Keemun, red=black.

Keemun is another transliteration of the Chinese characters that in modern romanization come out as Qimen. I have the feeling that Keemun may be a version from Fujianese, but I could certainly be wrong about that.

The Chinese expression Hong Cha, literally Red Tea, is exactly what westerners mean by black tea: leaves that are fully oxidized before the final drying in the manufacturing process.

/Lew

Reply to
Lewis Perin

I don't know how it sounds in Minnan dialect, but in Cantonese Qimen sounds more like Keemun. Most likely it is just simply a relic of past romanization by traders that never got changed, just like how Xiamen used to be Amoy. It's just convention at this point.

MarshalN

formatting link

Reply to
MarshalN

Xiamen = Har Moon?

--scott

Reply to
Scott Dorsey

Lewis snipped-for-privacy@panix1.panix.com11/4/06 18: snipped-for-privacy@panix.com

Lew, true as everything you say is, I think Shen is referring specifically to the color of the liquor in the cup. To this I would say that there is a difference between Keemun Hao Ya and Keemun Mao Feng. I would also say that the more delicate wirey types do tend to present more red than black in the cup while maintaining their full rich flavor at the same time. I never bothered to notice whether there is a color difference between KHY and KMF, but more whole vis-a-vis more broken leaf might have something to do with it. If I surmise wrong, I apologize.

On KHY and KMF, others will have more to say.

Michael

Reply to
Michael Plant

DrinksForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.