Keemun
Tea leaves After brewing
Type	Black
Other names	Qimen,祁門,qímén, Qimen Hong Cha
Origin	Qimen County,Huangshan,Anhui, China
Quick description	a light black tea with floral, slightly smoky aroma and malty, unsweetened cocoa taste
Keemun Traditional Chinese 祁門紅茶 Simplified Chinese 祁门红茶 Literal meaning Qimen red tea Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Qímén hóngchá IPA [tɕʰǐ.mə̌n xʊ̌ŋ.ʈʂʰǎ] Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Kèihmùhn hùhngchàh Jyutping Kei4mun4 hung4caa4 IPA [kʰej˩.mun˩ hʊŋ˩.tsʰa˩]

Keemun (Chinese:祁門紅茶;pinyin:Qímén hóngchá;Cantonese Yale:Kèihmùhn hùhngchàh;lit. 'Qimen red tea') is a famousChineseblack tea. First produced in the late 19th century, it quickly became popular in the West and is still used for a number of classic blends (such asEarl Grey tea).^[1] It is a light tea with characteristicstone fruit and slightly smoky notes in the aroma and a gentle, malty, non-astringent taste reminiscent of unsweetened cocoa. Keemun is said to have floral aromas and wooden notes.^[2][3]

Original Keemun is produced exclusively in theQimen County in the south ofAnhui province. It is grown in Guichi, Shitai, Dongzhi, and Yixian.^[4] The name of the tea is an older Western spelling of the name of the nearby town, Qimen (pronounced "Chee-mun"). The tea-growing region lies between theYellow Mountains and theYangtze River.^[5] The cultivar used for Keemun is the same as that used in production ofHuangshan Maofeng. While the latter is an old, well-known variety of green tea, Keemun was first produced in 1875 using techniques adapted fromFujian province farmers.^[6]

Many varieties of Keemun exist, with different production techniques used for each. Nevertheless, any Keemun undergoes particularly slow withering and oxidation processes, yielding more nuanced aroma and flavor.^[5][4] Some of Keemun's characteristic floral notes can be attributed to a higher proportion ofgeraniol, compared to other black teas.^[7]

Among the many varieties of Keemun perhaps the most well-known isKeemun Mao Feng (祁門毛峰). Harvested earlier than others, and containing leafsets of two leaves and a bud, it is lighter and sweeter than other Keemun teas. Another high grade variety, containing mostly leaves and stronger than others, is theKeemun Hao Ya (祁門毫芽). For Western markets, it is separated by quality into Hao Ya A and Hao Ya B categories, the former being somewhat better than the latter. Either has a markedly intense taste.^[5] Other varieties include those specifically tailored for theGongfu tea preparation method (Keemun Gongfu, orCongou –祁門功夫) andKeemun Xin Ya (祁門新芽), an early bud variety, said to have less bitterness.^[4] One of the black teas produced in neighboringHubei province is sometimes referred to as aHubei Keemun (湖北祁門) by several tea companies, but is not a Keemun in the true sense of the term.

• Tea Guardian: Qimen Maofeng (Keemun Black Tea)

• Black tea
• Chinese teas
• Chinese tea grown in Anhui
• Huangshan City

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Pages using multiple image with auto scaled images
• Articles containing Chinese-language text
• Articles containing traditional Chinese-language text