KEEMUN TEA comes from "Qimen" in Anhui Province, being first produced in 1875. The finest grades of Keemun are internationally recognised as being among the great black teas of the world. Authentic Keemun tea comes exclusively from Qimen County, a mountainous region to the south of Anhui Province, near the city of Huang Shan. The region in which the tea is grown is known for its temperate climate and abundant rainfall, which produces high air humidity and frequent mists which are critical in the production of premium grade tea. Keemun teas may be processed as loosely rolled whole leaf, such as Mao Feng & Xin Ya teas, or the well-known tightly rolled gongfu grades. Examples of the latter are the Hao Ya teas. Whatever the grade, leaf uniformity and fragrance are all-important signs of quality in choosing Keemun.

Premium leaf-bud
breakfast tea
KEEMUN
"SPROUT"

KEEMUN "SPROUT", so called because of the many leaf tips or buds present in this grade. It is a little known leaf-bud Keemun which is half way between the Premium Gongfu and the Mao Feng in both appearance and drinking characteristics. Its teas are floral and have a distinctively Keemun quality. Rich and fruity flavours are there rounded out by the typical 'chocolatey' undertones, which all good Keemun must possess. KEEMUN SPROUT; an exceptional breakfast tea available from G&S in 100g foil vacuum packs.

Gray & Seddon
... AND PREMIUM KEEMUN TEA

Keemun has a special place in our company. It was the first Chinese tea that Gray & Seddon sought out on establishing our business in premium regional teas. The top Hao Ya grades & other Gongfu Keemun forming a key position in our promotion of the best in Chinese tea. Today, our G&S continues to import the highest seasonal grades of gongfu and special whole-leaf Keemun for those who know all about this quality black tea.

Artisan Black Tea
Many in the trade attempt to explain keemun's special flavour from a cultivation perspective. Conditions in Qimen county, and surrounding regions, giving rise to a style of black tea not found elsewhere. Produced in the Qimen area of Anhui province and known as Qihong locally, an abbreviation of Qimen Hongcha, it is made by the Chinese gongfu black tea process, which reputedly involves no less than seventeen stages. Since its creation sometime in the 1870s, keemun black tea has been manufactured by a combination of old-style Chinese tea making combined with machine and factory processing needed for higher volume production. But the 'total production' refinements applied elsewhere, which involve all stages from initial withering treatments to fermentation, rolling and firing, did not evolve in China. The novel aspect of keemun production is that the early stages of manufacture lie with the small-acreage growers. The leaf is still largely harvested and initially processed by hand. This starts from late March or early April and extends into May for coarser gongfus. It is a demanding job where pickers remove leaf-bud sections of the new growth. Qimen tea is withered under the sun for several hours. Leaves are crushed and undergo a long, low-temperature fermentation. At the factory this leaf is then high fired to stop fermentation and rolled, re-fired and rolled again endlessly to develop flavour with a unique keemun characteristic. The bulk of keemun is made to what would be described in tea processing language as orthodox tea, i.e. large leaf fragments. Keemun tea after processing is stored and may be released anytime from July or August, depending on its condition. Genuine keemun production (late 1990s), before the surge in fake keemun, was estimated at 350,000kg. The top Hao Ya grades being no more than 50,000kg. However, along with the high prices connoisseurs are prepared to pay for the finest keemuns, blended-adulterated teas and fake keemun from other districts have elevated market supply. Real Keemun is made and processed only at Qimen.

Black or White
The original & perhaps greatest
of all black teas!

For better information on the availability of specialist
Keemun contact Gray & Seddon.
SPECIALIST KEEMUN ENQUIRIES