A cup of charms from a simpler time. Charcoal and cherry wood for strength and body, but blossoms of osmanthus sweeten the fragrance to everyone’s liking. A subtle, yet austere mineral finish. Perfect.

Produced April 12, 2022 by Wang Wen Feng and scented on September 21, 2022. It comes from Likou town, Qimen county, Huangshan city, Anhui, China. It’s a one bud, one leaf pick of the local Zhu Ye cultivars growing at approximately 2,400 feet. The Chinese name for this tea is Xiang Luo, meaning fragrant snail shell. The name is meant to indicate the processing style that highlights its aromatic qualities and the spiral shape of the leaf – not the smell of shells (or snails).

The tea received one round of scenting on September 21, 2022 using sweet osmanthus flowers. The buds are picked just before they blossom and piled with the tea, which absorbs the flowers fragrance as they bloom. The tea and flowers are mixed every five hours and four times total. The spent blossoms are then removed and one more low roast is applied to the tea to preserve the aroma.

Qimen (“chee-mun”) is frequently spelled “keemun” in English and is pronounced phonetically when spelled like this. Both words refer to the same tea.

Ingredients: black tea, osmanthus flowers

Steeping Instructions

Steep 4 grams | 10-12 oz water | 212°F | 4 min.

Traditional Steeping: Use 6 grams of tea and steep with boiling water in a 150ml gaiwan.

• 10 second rinse
• 1^st steep – 20 seconds
• 2^nd steep – 15 seconds
• 3^rd steep – 30 seconds
• 4^th steep – 75 seconds
• 5th steep - 2 minutes, 30 seconds

Number of Cups