Hi, all!
In a recent recent to Monterey Park Wing Hop Fung, I bought a bit of
"Qi Men Red Tea" #1187, $45.99 a pound. Very short, thin, wirey, brown
pieces of leaf.
After having a pot today and last evening, I realized that I really,
really like this stuff. It's difficult to describe; slightly
"shellac-y", rich, and even in its flavor from beginning to finish.
Really good.
The liquid itself is definitely red.
My other Keemuns have been black.
I'd appreciate any information available on Red Keemun.
Thanks.

"Shen" > writes:

> Hi, all!
> In a recent recent to Monterey Park Wing Hop Fung, I bought a bit of
> "Qi Men Red Tea" #1187, $45.99 a pound. Very short, thin, wirey, brown
> pieces of leaf.
> After having a pot today and last evening, I realized that I really,
> really like this stuff. It's difficult to describe; slightly
> "shellac-y", rich, and even in its flavor from beginning to finish.
> Really good.
> The liquid itself is definitely red.
> My other Keemuns have been black.
> I'd appreciate any information available on Red Keemun.
> Thanks.

The short of it is: Qimen=Keemun, red=black.

Keemun is another transliteration of the Chinese characters that in
modern romanization come out as Qimen. I have the feeling that Keemun
may be a version from Fujianese, but I could certainly be wrong about that.

The Chinese expression Hong Cha, literally Red Tea, is exactly what
westerners mean by black tea: leaves that are fully oxidized before
the final drying in the manufacturing process.

/Lew
---
Lew Perin /
http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html
recent mis-romanization entry: Bai Rei Xian

Lewis Perin wrote:

> The short of it is: Qimen=Keemun, red=black.
>
> Keemun is another transliteration of the Chinese characters that in
> modern romanization come out as Qimen. I have the feeling that Keemun
> may be a version from Fujianese, but I could certainly be wrong about that.
>
> The Chinese expression Hong Cha, literally Red Tea, is exactly what
> westerners mean by black tea: leaves that are fully oxidized before
> the final drying in the manufacturing process.
>
> /Lew
> ---
> Lew Perin /
> http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html
> recent mis-romanization entry: Bai Rei Xian

I don't know how it sounds in Minnan dialect, but in Cantonese Qimen
sounds more like Keemun. Most likely it is just simply a relic of past
romanization by traders that never got changed, just like how Xiamen
used to be Amoy. It's just convention at this point.

MarshalN
http://www.xanga.com/MarshalN

MarshalN > wrote:
>
>I don't know how it sounds in Minnan dialect, but in Cantonese Qimen
>sounds more like Keemun. Most likely it is just simply a relic of past
>romanization by traders that never got changed, just like how Xiamen
>used to be Amoy. It's just convention at this point.

Xiamen = Har Moon?
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Lewis 11/4/06

> "Shen" > writes:
>
>> Hi, all!
>> In a recent recent to Monterey Park Wing Hop Fung, I bought a bit of
>> "Qi Men Red Tea" #1187, $45.99 a pound. Very short, thin, wirey, brown
>> pieces of leaf.
>> After having a pot today and last evening, I realized that I really,
>> really like this stuff. It's difficult to describe; slightly
>> "shellac-y", rich, and even in its flavor from beginning to finish.
>> Really good.
>> The liquid itself is definitely red.
>> My other Keemuns have been black.
>> I'd appreciate any information available on Red Keemun.
>> Thanks.
>
> The short of it is: Qimen=Keemun, red=black.
>
> Keemun is another transliteration of the Chinese characters that in
> modern romanization come out as Qimen. I have the feeling that Keemun
> may be a version from Fujianese, but I could certainly be wrong about that.
>
> The Chinese expression Hong Cha, literally Red Tea, is exactly what
> westerners mean by black tea: leaves that are fully oxidized before
> the final drying in the manufacturing process.
>
> /Lew

Lew, true as everything you say is, I think Shen
is referring specifically to the color of the liquor
in the cup. To this I would say that there is a
difference between Keemun Hao Ya and Keemun
Mao Feng. I would also say that the more delicate
wirey types do tend to present more red than black
in the cup while maintaining their full rich flavor
at the same time. I never bothered to notice whether
there is a color difference between KHY and KMF,
but more whole vis-a-vis more broken leaf might
have something to do with it. If I surmise wrong, I
apologize.

On KHY and KMF, others will have more to say.

Michael