Why is Keemun black tea famous all over the world? What are the varieties of Keemun black tea?

Qimen Gongfu black tea is a treasure of traditional Chinese Gongfu black tea, with a production history of more than 100 years. The main quality characteristics of Qimen Gongfu are its fine and tight appearance, black and glossy color. The internal aroma is rich with sugar fragrance, and the taste is mellow and sweet; the soup color is bright red, and the leaves are red, uniform, and soft. Qimen black tea includes Qihong Gongfu, Qihong Xiangluo, and Qihong Maofeng, all of which are sought after by many tea lovers and are good teas worth tasting.

Contents of this article

1. Why is Keemun black tea famous in the world?

2. What are the varieties of Keemun black tea?

3. How to make Keemun black tea

Why is Keemun black tea famous in the world?

Qimen Gongfu black tea is a treasure of traditional Chinese Gongfu black tea, with a production history of more than 100 years. It is mainly produced in Qimen County, Anhui Province, and is also produced in small quantities in neighboring counties such as Shitai, Dongzhi, Yixian and Guichi. The annual output is about 50,000 dan. Qihong Gongfu is famous for its beautiful appearance, "precious light" color and rich aroma, and enjoys a high reputation at home and abroad. Qihong Gongfu tea has tight and beautiful strips, good front seedlings, black and gray color, commonly known as "precious light", and has a strong and long internal aroma, like honey, and contains orchid fragrance. The soup color is bright red, the taste is mellow, the aftertaste is meaningful, and the bottom of the leaves is tender, soft and bright red. The quality of Qimen black tea is superior and is known as "the best among all flowers", which is inseparable from the superior natural ecological environment conditions in the Qimen area. These tea gardens account for about 65% of the total tea garden area in the county. The soil is fertile, the humus content is high, the temperature difference between morning and evening is large, there are often clouds and mist, and the sunshine time is relatively short, which constitutes a natural environment for the growth of tea trees and brews the special aroma and flavor of "Qihong".

What are the varieties of Keemun black tea?

1. Qihong Gongfu: The traditional Qihong Gongfu is broken tea, which means that the whole tea strands are cut into 0.6-0.8cm lengths. It is cut, not chopped. There are two reasons for this. In terms of aroma, the aroma of traditional Qihong Gongfu is more intense and rich, with a complex and elegant aroma characteristic, like flowers, fruits and honey, and is known as "Qimen Xiang" internationally. The main quality characteristics of Qimen Gongfu are its fine and tight appearance and black and oily color. The internal aroma is rich with sugar aroma, and the taste is mellow and sweet; the soup is bright red, and the leaves are red, uniform and soft.

2. Qihong Xiangluo: The new Qimen black tea has a curled shape like a snail and a pleasant aroma, hence the name Qihong Xiangluo. Compared with the traditional Qimen Gongfu, it is lighter in fermentation, dark and moist in color, with golden hairs, bright red soup, long and sweet fragrance, sweet and moist taste, and bright red leaves with many buds. This is different from the traditional classic "Qimen Xiang" style that resembles flowers, fruits and honey. We can call it "new-style Qimen Xiang", which is also sought after by many tea lovers. The taste is less mellow than Gongfu black tea, but it is more refreshing and sweet.

3. Qihong Maofeng: This is a curved Qimen black tea made with the shaping technique of Maofeng. After fermentation, it is dried directly without any refinement or shaping process. The Qihong Maofeng tea has tight, curved leaves with exposed hairs, and a dark, even color. It has a fresh, sweet aroma, bright red soup, a fresh, sweet and mellow taste, and bright red, tender and evenly budded leaves.

How to make Keemun black tea

1. Picking and grading: In the production process of Keemun black tea, the first thing is to pick the tea before the Qingming Festival, and the young buds must be picked. After picking, the tea leaves also need to be graded and removed from fragments.

2. Withering: From the diagram of the production process of Keemun black tea, we can see that the production of Keemun black tea must have the step of withering. The main purpose of withering is to evaporate the moisture in the tea leaves. At the same time, the loss of moisture will lay the foundation for the color and aroma quality of the black tea.

3. Rolling: The third step of production is rolling. The rolling of Keemun black tea can usually be done by machine. The tea juice in the tea leaves can be spilled by rolling, which will make it easier to proceed to the next step.

4. Fermentation and shaping: The fourth step in the production of Keemun black tea is fermentation and shaping, which is a necessary process for black tea. During the fermentation process, polyphenol oxidase is activated to form thearubigins and turn the tea into red. Of course, in order to enhance the beauty of the black tea, the Keemun black tea needs to be shaped manually after fermentation.

5. Baking: The last step is baking. From the diagram, we can vaguely see that Keemun black tea is baked with charcoal fire. After the tea leaves are dried, the top-grade Keemun black tea is ready.