TeaChat

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good inexpensive Keemun black tea that they have tried and where to order it. I noticed the thread on the Chun Fen but that one seems a bit pricey for what I want to spend. I am a big Puerh drinker and am looking to expand my horizons and get into some other teas as well. Thanks in advance for any tips!

Andrew

I've only had the Keemun Rhapsody from Adagio, and it's quite good.

I'd recommend trying the Adagio black tea samplers. I found it a great way to experience a variety of teas to figure out where my tastes lie. The quality is good and the price is right, and you won't get stuck with any bigger quantities of teas that might not be to your taste. Love the samplers.

Sarah

Hey thanks for the tips. I can recall the only Keemun that I have tried tasted in many ways similar to something like Earl Grey. It had a very flowery taste to me, I really liked it. It didn't taste like typical "black tea" taste. I wish I could remember where it was from. Thanks I may have to try these samplers from Adiago.

i want some keemun too...

I think teaspring.com has a very excellent black tea selection. In fact.. all of their good black teas have taste close to a good Keemun. I have myself tried: Keemun Xian Zhen, Bai Lin, Sichuan Gongfu, both Yunnan Golds, Zhu Hai Jin Ming. It'd be hard for me to pick a favorite, maybe Sichuan Gongfu. All of them were a bit uneven - really great when they work but maybe I'm not very precise in my brewing, sometimes they would not work as well. I never tried gong-fu preparation with them. I mostly use two large glass pots, brewing without an infuser. These teas are inexpensive and for their quality, in my opinion, are a great bargain.

houdeasianart.com also has a pretty nice golden Yunnan, their advantage is that when I order, I get the package in ~2-3 days in NY area. It takes a week or a bit longer from teaspring, since they ship from China.

HTH!

I have had the Zhu Hai Jin Ming. It is *very* difficult to get a good western brew of that tea. You need to steep very fast, as in less than 2 minutes, and maybe much less. It's much easier to get wow from it gong fu, and the gong fu goes 4 brews for me.

Panyang Congou Te Ji is pretty good, and much easier to get a happy brew.

Thanks Rainy-Day for your suggestions. Now that I think about it I think the Keemun I sampled was from Generation Tea shop online. Or might have been another........

Have you tried Seven Cups? Here's a link to their 2006 "Breakfast Keemun." http://www.sevencups.com/tea_shop/produ ... 291&page=1

I've had some, and it's decent. It's also very cheap!