Name:

Premium *Black Tea*Qi Men (Keemun) Hong Cha 50g/Canister

Origin:

Anhui,China

Type:

Black Tea

Process:

Cooked Tea

Net Weight:

50g-500g/pack

Vintage:

2013

Brewing Guide:

Place 4-5 grams of tea leaves into the Zhi Sha tea pot or Gai Wan, pour in boiling water and cover it for 3-5 seconds, Pour out the tea water into the tea cup(s) and drain away. The first steeping is not intended for drinking and is used for the purpose of washing the tea leaves and warms the tea cup. It’s also a means of decaffeinating. Caffeine is highly water soluble, so it is one of the first constituents of the leaf to be extracted in the steeping process. Usually most of the tea's caffeine content is released in the first steeping.

You can enjoy any tea virtually caffeine-free (with little sacrifice of flavor) by discarding the water in the first steeping and adding fresh hot water to the now largely decaffeinated leaf.

About  Qi Men Hong Cha         

Keemun, Qi Men Red Tea, from a former county of Keemun in Anhui Province, was once the popular "English Breakfast Tea". It is the best known of the north China Congous. There are various grades of Keemun such as Mao Feng, Hao-Ya, and Ji Hong. Keemun contains a substance called myrcenal. This is an essential oil that is unique only to the variety of tea plant from which Keemun tea is produced and which gives it a distinctive taste. It is said that it has a flavor that almost sings! 
China Black Tea

Black tea is a completely oxidized (fermented) tea. Black tea, or as it is known in China - Hong cha (red tea), was originally only for export to the foreign markets. In China it is called red tea in reference to the color of the infused liquid or to the red edges of the oxidized leaves, as opposed to the color of the main body of the processed tea leaves. At one time, black tea was considered of lesser quality and not desired by the Chinese themselves and therefore, was exported. Which is why, to this day, black tea is what everyone outside of China thinks of when talking about tea, whereas, tea in China is understood to mean green tea.

Black tea is also known as "Congous" in the international tea trade business. The name Congous is actually taken from the Chinese term Gongfu or Kung-Fu. Northern Congous are also referred to as black leaf Congous, "the Burgundy of China teas", and southern Congous as red leaf Congous, "the Claret of China teas".

Black tea leaves come from the same tea plant, Camellia sinensis as does all real tea, but probably the best comes from the Assamsubvariety of the plant, Camellia sinensis Assamica, or a hybrid. The infused leaf is a reddish copper color and the liquor is bright red and slightly astringent but not bitter. The important difference is in the processing of the tea leaves, which makes black tea different from the other kinds of tea.