Keemun Gongfu

🍵 Tea Name

Keemun Gongfu (Qimen Hong Cha)

📍 Terroir & Origin

• Precise Origin: Qimen County, Anhui Province, China — the home of Keemun black tea since its creation in 1875. The county sits near 30°N, with persistent mist and mineral-rich acidic soils.
• Altitude & Environment: Gardens around 600 metres. Cloud and drizzle stretch the spring flush; the leaf accumulates the orchid–honey note that the trade calls Keemun Fragrance.
• Cultivar: Qimen Zhuye, the local landrace. It is the plant behind the dried-fruit and orchid profile; substituting a coastal cultivar changes the tea.

🌱 Plucking Standards

• Harvest Timing: Pre-Qingming lots are the core of this Gongfu line: cooler nights, slower growth, and a higher share of amino acids before the summer heat raises astringency.
• Plucking Requirements: A bud with one or two young leaves, kept intact so the later sifting stages can make a true Gongfu leaf — even, wiry, and free of dust and stalk where the grade requires it.

🔥 Processing Techniques

Gongfu here names the refinement after the first firing, not a brewing method. More than a dozen sorting and re-firing steps turn maocha into the export leaf.

• Withering: Spread leaf loses moisture until it is pliable and the grassy note begins to recede.
• Rolling: Cell walls are broken so polyphenols can oxidise evenly in the next step.
• Oxidation (fermentation): The pile is watched for colour and aroma. This is where the ruby liquor and the Keemun Fragrance are set — orchid, honey, and dried fruit, not a generic malt.
• Firing: Heat stops oxidation and dries the leaf for storage.
• Refinement: Sifting, sorting, and re-firing remove stalk and dust and even the grade. That labour is what “Gongfu” refers to on this lot.

👅 Tasting Notes

• Appearance: Fine, dark, slightly twisted leaf with a subdued gloss. Gongfu should look composed, not broken.
• Liquor: Vibrant ruby-red and bright in the cup.
• Aroma & Palate: The Keemun Fragrance: orchid over honey and dried fruit. The taste is mellow and refreshing, with a lingering sweetness rather than a heavy cocoa roast. The style drew a Gold Medal at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition — a historical mark, not a current lab claim.

🫖 Brewing & Storage

• Recommended brewing: A white porcelain gaiwan, or a Yixing zisha teapot if you want more heat retention. Water just off the boil (about 90°C–95°C). Around 4–5 g in a 110–120 ml gaiwan; rinse once, then 10–15 seconds on the first drinkable steep, adding time as the leaf opens. It also works in a pot at a lighter ratio for a longer Western steep.
• Storage & shelf life: Cool, dry, airtight, and odour-free. Fully oxidised Keemun is more stable than a pan-fired green; the labelled shelf life is 24 months from production.