Keemun: China's Most Elegant Red (Black) Tea

Keemun (Qimen Hong Cha, 祁门红茶) is a red tea (hong cha), what the West calls a black tea, from Qimen county in Anhui province, grown on the slopes around Huangshan at roughly 800–1,200 metres. It's been made since 1875 and is often called the most elegant of Chinese red teas: orchid, plum, honey, sometimes a light winey or piney note, with a clean, dry finish and no harsh bitterness. The main grades are Mao Feng, Xin Ya and Hao Ya, the most bud-rich. Brew it at 90–95 °C with short gongfu steeps, or 2–3 minutes in a mug.

I'll be honest: my first Keemun disappointed me. It was a broken-leaf supermarket blend labelled "Keemun", and it tasted like any other strong, slightly bitter black tea. Years later, a whole-leaf Keemun Hao Ya brewed in a gaiwan tasted like a completely different drink: a perfume of orchid and plum, honey on the tongue, and a clean, almost wine-like finish that made me think of a good dry red. It's now the tea I reach for when I want red tea but something more refined than my everyday Dian Hong.

A tea born in 1875#

Qimen county in southern Anhui used to make green tea. In 1875, a man named Yu Ganchen, who had seen how red tea was made in Fujian, brought the method to Qimen. The local leaf, grown on misty slopes around Huangshan at about 800 to 1,200 metres, turned out to make an unusually aromatic red tea, and Keemun quickly became one of China's great export teas. In 1915 it won a top award at the Panama–Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, which sealed its reputation.

You may read that Keemun became the British royal family's favourite in its first year, or that it came from soldiers interrupting a tea harvest. Both are doubtful. The soldiers story belongs to Lapsang Souchong's home region in Fujian, where red tea began: see Lapsang Souchong.

How Keemun tastes#

• Dry leaf: fine, tight, dark, with a subtle sweet, slightly smoky smell.
• Aroma: the famous "Keemun aroma": orchid, ripe plum, honey, sometimes a light pine or smoke note.
• Taste: sweet and clean, medium-bodied, with a gentle, dry, slightly winey finish.
• Liquor: bright red with a golden ring at the edge of the cup.

Against Dian Hong, Keemun is lighter, drier and more perfumed; Dian Hong is fuller, maltier and more chocolatey.

Keemun grades#

Hao Ya is the grade to look for if you want the full Keemun experience. Everyday Keemun Gongfu is excellent too.

Signs of a good Keemun#

Keemun is the textbook example for judging Chinese red tea:

• Fine, tightly rolled leaves, roughly 6–8 mm, even in size, with a glossy sheen.
• A bright red liquor with a golden rim.
• No harsh bitterness, even in later steeps.
• Bright, coppery, supple spent leaves (the "tea bottom").
• Staying power: ordinary red teas give around 7 good gongfu steeps; the best give 10–14.

How to brew Keemun#

Gongfu#

A porcelain gaiwan shows off the aroma best. Full chart: gongfu brewing chart.

Western#

About 2–3 g per 250 ml, water just off the boil, 2–3 minutes. Whole-leaf Keemun is best without milk; broken grades take milk well. More in gongfu vs western.

My tasting: Keemun Hao Ya, steep by steep#

A Keemun Hao Ya I brewed for this article: 5 g in a 100 ml gaiwan, water at 92 °C, no rinse.

Steep 1 (8 s). Bright red with a golden rim. Orchid and ripe plum on the lid, sweet and clean in the mouth.

Steep 2 (10 s). Honey arrives, and a faint pine-smoke note underneath. Medium body, a dry, winey finish.

Steep 4 (20 s). The peak: plum, honey and orchid together, a long sweet aftertaste.

Steep 7 (60 s). Softer and lighter, still sweet, no bitterness.

Final count: 9 good steeps. How I taste and take notes is in how to taste tea.

How to store Keemun#

Airtight, opaque, cool and away from smells. Red teas keep well, up to about three years, but Keemun's perfume is brightest in the first year.

Myths about Keemun#

"Keemun is just a breakfast tea." Broken Keemun goes into breakfast blends, but whole-leaf Keemun is a fine, aromatic tea in its own right.

"Keemun is fermented for weeks." Red tea oxidizes for hours. Long "fermentation" claims are simply wrong.

"Keemun was invented by accident when soldiers disturbed a harvest." That legend belongs to Lapsang Souchong's region, not Qimen.

My honest take#

If your only Keemun has been in a blend or a teabag, you haven't really met it. Buy a small bag of whole-leaf Keemun Hao Ya or Gongfu, brew it in a gaiwan at around 92 °C, and smell the lid after the first steep. That's the orchid-and-plum aroma people have loved since the 1870s.

The bottom line#

Keemun is Anhui's elegant red tea: orchid, plum, honey and a clean, winey finish. Look for whole leaf, ideally Hao Ya, brew at 90–95 °C with short steeps, and compare it with Dian Hong to understand the range of Chinese red tea. More in my Chinese red tea guide.