I recently reviewed a green tea from Hubei, the first-ever tea I’ve tried from this province. While this black tea looked excellent like a Jin Jun Mei, I had no idea what to expect. I have not heard of anything about a black tea from Hubei before.
So, I steeped it in gongfu style. Yes, I did. And the result was phenomenal. It was one of the richest black teas I have ever tasted, and I thought it carried the aroma and flavour of wild roses. The taste reminded me of an excellent Keemun but with a richer profile. Later, I find out that this type of black tea from Hubei is also called Hubei Keemun although it is not Keemun as it does not come from Qimen in Anhui but from the neighbouring province. Apparently, in China, Hubei is the 4th largest black tea producer and most of the black tea produced in this type of Keemun. This source suggests that Anhui cannot meet the demand for Keamun therefore, the production of this famous tea spread to neighbour provinces like Hubei and Jiangxi.
There are discussions about the legitimacy of this tea to be considered as Keemun. All I have to say it was more impressive than some Anhui Keemuns I have tasted. A good find indeed!
Tea Profile:
Type: Black
Origin: Hubei
Harvest time: Early Spring 2020
Leaf colour: Dark brown with golden tips
Liquor colour: Dark amber
Tea Aroma: Woody and floral
Tea taste: Thick with rose and wood flavour
Steeping/brewing: Place about 4 g of this tea in a gaiwan or teapot and add hot water around 90°C. After rinsing the leaves, you can steep for 5 seconds and add 10 second to each consecutive steeping. You can re-steep this tea about four times.
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