Age this one properly and it can develop the kind of mellow depth people usually compare to a good wine, though there's no need to wait — Keemun 3 Monkey Tea drinks well straight away too, with a cup built on date and cream sweetness, butter, malt, a little smoke and a woody edge underneath. It sits apart from most other black teas in exactly that combination.
Keemun itself is young by Chinese tea standards. Qimen County in Anhui Province had spent centuries making green tea before Keemun black tea appeared there in 1875, developed by a former civil servant named Yu Ganchen. He'd lost his job, traveled to Fujian Province to learn black tea production, then set up three factories back in Qimen, where he found the county's low temperatures and high humidity suited black tea better than expected. Forty years on, in 1915, the tea won the Gold Prize at the International Exposition in Panama, and it went on to become one of the most widely drunk black teas in the West, a regular component of Breakfast Tea blends.
In the cup it's soft and delicate rather than heavy, sweet with a smoky edge, creamy and rich, and finishes with a slight sharpness. The liquor runs coppery red and stays light in tone rather than dark. It's generally considered less rich in antioxidants than green or white tea, but carries a fair amount of caffeine, and has long been reached for as a way to start the day; some drink it as part of an active routine in hopes it eases digestion or supports weight management, though those are traditional claims rather than settled fact.
Brew it as loose leaf with freshly boiled water for three to five minutes. It takes milk, honey or lemon without losing its character, or works served plain for anyone who wants the leaf's flavor undiluted.
