When Qimen came out it perked my interest. Then a bunch of my tea friends told me Qimen is amazing and they were buying more as it was a limited edition tea. Then I caved and bought 2 packages – recently ran into some bad tea luck on stuff selling out on me before I could buy it (I shake my fist at white2tea’s bang dong hong!) so I decided I wasn’t going to take any chances. It wasn’t hard to cave in for a purchase at Joseph Wesley Black tea – I love everything I’ve tried so far. The packaging on their teas is great and the website is a pleasure to look at.
Dry Leaf
Qimen sports cute, dainty, and delicate curls of tea with the odd gold tip. The dry leaf is super delicate as it is easy to break them with your fingers. The leaf has a fresh dark chocolate raisin scent.
Steeping Instructions
There are so steeping instructions with this tea but I’m okay with that. I went a bit light on tea, 5 grams with a 120ml gaiwan. I used boiling water with quick infusions of 15 seconds.
Tasting of Joseph Wesley Black Tea’s Qimen
Qimen steeps up a pretty golden brew with a dark chocolate scent. This tea is super clear!
First Infusion: Qimen starts nicely sweet and soft with a fruity finish. There was a slick mouth feel too I think. I drank it so fast before figuring out what I tasted.
Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Infusion: The flavor strength is on the low-moderate side for a black making it a delicate sip. However, what is there is really good – honey sweet, slick and smooth texture, along with a dark chocolate and a slight smoke note. The finish has a touch of floral with an aftertaste of chocolate. Qimen has a really clean taste with not a lick of bitter or dryness. There is so much going on!
Drinking Qimen is making me happy. It tastes great and I’m drinking it faster than I can type about it.
Sixth and Seventh Infusion: Qimen is still going but getting lighter fast. The flavor is still chocolate and honey, but there’s a bit of dryness trying to come out that dries the cheeks and tip of tongue.
Eighth Infusion: 10 minute steep to get all the flavor out! Very sweet infusion of honey fruit and chocolate. Despite the long steeping, Qimen did not get any more drier or bitter. Great tea session!
Comments
Keemun fans get Joseph Wesley Black Tea’s Qimen now before we buy it all! This tea is a limited release!
Qimen is a great black for chocolate drinkers who don’t want a strong punchy black. I find this black has a great flavor that is easy to drink that you could chug it, but also complex for tea snobs to enjoy. I liked it so much my tea pets stayed dry! I would not add milk or sugar to this black as it’s sweet on its own and too light for milk. Qimen is also a great high quality black tea with a nice price – it didn’t hurt the wallet buying 2 packages.
Bonus: Sharing Qimen with tea friends!
