Keemun Hao Ya
The top grades of Keemun, sorted for fine downy bud and sold as Hao Ya A and B. The famous Keemun aroma — a mix of dried fruit, pine smoke and something floral often described as orchid — is at its clearest here, without the roughness of ordinary grades.
Character
The Keemun aroma at full strength — dried fruit and a whisper of pine over a soft, sweet body. It is the tea that made China’s black-tea reputation in Europe.
- Flavour
- Fruity, Smoky, Floral, Chocolate
- Aroma
- Orchid, Stone fruit
- Mouthfeel
- Medium, Smooth, Complex
- Complexity
- Layered
- Notes
- dried plum, pine, orchid, cocoa
- Aftertaste
- Fruity and faintly smoky, with a floral lift.
Moderate intensity: noticeable weight or grip, but neither dominates the cup.
Provenance and production
- Origin
- China
- Region
- Qimen
- Cultivar
- Qun Ti Zhong
- Oxidation
- Fully oxidised
- Harvest
- Spring
- Processing
- Withering → Strip rolling → Oxidation → Drying
Brewing
Western brewing (teapot or mug)
1–1.5 g/100 ml · 88–93 °C · 1 authored infusion
Gongfu brewing (gaiwan)
4–5 g/100 ml · 90–95 °C · 5 authored infusions
No caffeine estimate is authored for this tea. TeaHQ does not infer one from its category, because category predicts caffeine poorly — matcha and gyokuro carry more than many black teas.
If you like this
Grouped by why they were suggested, strongest reason first. Nothing here is a blended score — a suggestion appears under the best reason that exists for it, and never under a weaker one as well.
Editorially linked
Someone wrote down why these two belong together. The note below is theirs.
- Ning Hong
Keemun’s fruit-and-pine aroma, then the older Jiangxi black it displaced commercially. Ning Hong is darker and simpler and was once the more famous of the two.
- Keemun
A grade of Keemun sold under its own name, which leads buyers to treat it as a separate tea. Hao Ya A and B are the top sorted grades of the same product.
Similar sensory profile
Shares controlled flavour, aroma and mouthfeel descriptors. A looser match — two teas can share descriptors and still taste nothing alike.
- Ban Tian Yao
Shares 6 descriptors with Keemun Hao Ya: fruity, floral, medium, smooth, stone fruit and orchid.
- Mi Lan Xiang Dan Cong
Shares 6 descriptors with Keemun Hao Ya: fruity, floral, complex, medium, orchid and stone fruit.
- Phoenix Dan Cong
Shares 6 descriptors with Keemun Hao Ya: floral, fruity, medium, complex, orchid and stone fruit.
- Darjeeling muscatel
Shares 5 descriptors with Keemun Hao Ya: fruity, medium, smooth, complex and stone fruit.
- Jingmai sheng pu-erh
Shares 5 descriptors with Keemun Hao Ya: floral, medium, smooth, complex and orchid.
- Ling Tou Dan Cong
Shares 5 descriptors with Keemun Hao Ya: floral, fruity, medium, smooth and orchid.