Keemun

“Normal tea! I just want Normal Tea! Give me Normal Tea or I’m stealing the tip jar!” This plaintive cry of many a luckless traveller in Lee Rosy’s is a strange thing, because the ‘normal’ tea of everyday Britons has changed down the ages. When tea first arrived in Britain many centuries ago it was green tea. Nowadays, ‘normal tea’ would be a stingy tea bag containing a blend of south Asian or African black tea. But in Victorian times, Keemun tea was the drink of the masses.

Mellower than typical breakfast blends and with a smooth, nutty flavour, Keemun is one of the “10 famous teas of China”. In days gone by, they were given as tribute to the emperor. Nowadays, they are not necessarily the rarest or priciest teas around, but as a set they represent the unmatched variety of China tea – and Keemun is always on the list.