1.5 tsp for 300mL water @100C, steeped five minutes.
My local indie teashop, Britannia Teas and Gifts, no longer exists as a bricks-and-mortar store, though the owner does appear at popup markets. I asked her a while ago if she had any Keemun left, and she did: either in a few 50g bags, or in the great big 2 kilo vacuum-packed brick that came from her wholesaler.
I bought the 2 kg brick. Yeah, that’s how much I like Keemun.
There are grades of Keemun I prefer to Organic Panda # 1, but I am very pleased to have the Panda in my life This is a complex, fairly oaky Keemun, and it can, if you use too much leaf or steep it too long, get tarry. No tar at 5 minutes, though, just some rising smoke. Dark copper liquor. Lots of oak, as I said, and toast, some smoke and orchid, and even some plum-raisin notes in the finish. I’ve tried this Keemun with milk and sugar, and I don’t find either brings anything extra out, but that’s a personal preference. This is a dependable and unmistakable Keemun, taking on some winey notes now as it ages. Decent caffeine punch. It also cries out for blending, maybe with a creamy Assam. A favourite, and each time I drink it, I remember why.
Flavors: Baked Bread, Cocoa, Dark Bittersweet, Orchids, Plums, Raisins
