Keemun Mao Feng

I was looking for Jin Jun Mei and was directed toward Keemun Mao Feng. For all intents and purposes, Keemun Mao Feng has a similar enough flavor profile to Jin Jun Mei that by the time I brewed my first pot, I knew I had discovered something special for myself. Darker leaves and an overall darker liquor betray a delicate flavor, first of honey, then of sweet, earthy grass. This tea smells wonderful dry, imagine dirt and grass right before a storm, but as water hits the leaves, the steam carries the notes to your nostrils and makes you eager for the first sip. I found it hard to over-steep this tea as well. The color darkens, but the flavors stay true and you never get any of the bitterness that English and Indian teas give when you forget about them just a bit too long. This tea has seems to me to have an acceptable caffeine content. Definitely ideal to start a shift. I have tried it with creamer, and while it does add some depth to flavor, I find that the cream easily eclipses the more favorable and delicate notes of the tea. No, I believe that the only thing to improve this tea is a drop locally-sourced honey.