After steeping fail on both teas I’ve had today, one of which I’ve documented, I just needed a proper cup of tea. One that can’t go wrong. I had a funny feeling that it was a specific one I wanted but it wasn’t until I saw the tin that I knew which one it was.
It’s funny with this one. When I was first introduced to lapsang souchong, I thought it was a really harsh and rough sort of flavour with smoke all over the place.
Now, the more I drink it, the milder it seems to become. The aroma is still the same. All rough and tough and smoke and manly. But the taste seems to have smoothed out for me.
If I pay attention and seek it out the smokyness is there in spades. But it seems to be a bit shy. If I don’t speak to it first, it doesn’t speak to me. The rest of the tea seems surprisingly smooth and mellow and with a round sort of feeling to it, as if I had added milk. I haven’t actually added anything, and I’ve only used the cup for the white pomegranate earlier today and rinsed it out in between.
You all remember my black powder blend, the one I recently bought a huge amount of. I’ve filled my tin at work with that so I have a good amount of that four days a week. It has lapsang souchong in it, the smokyness of which I think is part of the reason for the name of the blend, so could it be that I’m getting so conditioned to lapsang now that I’m having this experience of it?
The first time I had lapsang souchong, after I had first got into the black powder blend, I found it strangely lacking. Watered down. I was expecting the fuller flavour of the blend, not just one of the ingredients in it. I was afraid lapsang souchong as a plain tea had been ruined for me forever. I’m pleased to say that this is definitely not the case, as what I’ve got here tonight is an extraordinarily pleasant cup of tea.
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Some LS is the genuine article, some are adding “smoke” flavour these days. Caveat Emptor, my friend.
Hmm, might now go and enjoy that manly smokiness myself
Funny thing is though that this is the exact same batch that has changed that way for me. It’s not the first one I’ve had, but when I first tasted this particular one, it was the same experience for me as the very first one I ever tried. I had this one when I first had the black powder blend and it was this one too that I had that watered down experience with. Odd, isn’t it? (Let it also be known that quality-wise I have every bit of faith in this particular shop. They wouldn’t have stayed in business for 175 years, if they hadn’t been dealing with proper quality teas. :)
I always think of LS (from Teavana) as liquid bacon, and tend to make it on Sunday mornings. :-) Delicious stuff, but kind of an unusual taste. Glad that you found a brand/brewing combo that worked for you!
Oh lapsang has been a favourite of mine since the first time I tried it. I was curious and it’s not at all a popular type in Denmark. You can’t find it in supermarkets for example, but have to resort to actual tea shops. A friend of mine from England sent me some because I was curious. It was love at first sip. :)
Lapsang is definitely a new favorite for me, like you, love at first sip! I get a sweetness from it as well as smoothness. I always have to describe it to people at work, and they are always surprised that I say it’s got a touch of sweetness and that I’m not just drinking liquid smoke. It’s also good when I add a little sugar to it. Yum yum, lapsang!
I think it’s largely a love it or hate it type of tea. Some people can find the middle road where they can tolerate it but doesn’t particularly enjoy it. One of my colleagues is on the middle road, borderline hating it. She thinks it’s like standing in a smoke-filled room with a mouth full of water.
I totally get the sweet note you found. I think maybe it’s the same one that I experienced as a milky sort of feeling in this one.
Have not tried Lapsang before..sounds interesting but weary about the smokiness. I look forward to trying tho!
@Angrboda I don’t know if it’s entirely love/hate. I like it but it’s not a tea I can drink a lot of. It reminds me of lox or smoked white fish, which I used to adore as a child but could only eat a small amount. It’s an “appetizer” tea for me, not a main course.
By contrast, I can drink many of the flavored senchas by Den’s all afternoon.
I need to get my hands on some LS as well. Seems so intriguing!
Pine, I knew it! Drinking this right now, and gosh, it is a bit different than my usuals LS. But pine, yeah yep, very there in the scent, maybe not so much in the taste.
Some LS is the genuine article, some are adding “smoke” flavour these days. Caveat Emptor, my friend.
Hmm, might now go and enjoy that manly smokiness myself
Funny thing is though that this is the exact same batch that has changed that way for me. It’s not the first one I’ve had, but when I first tasted this particular one, it was the same experience for me as the very first one I ever tried. I had this one when I first had the black powder blend and it was this one too that I had that watered down experience with. Odd, isn’t it? (Let it also be known that quality-wise I have every bit of faith in this particular shop. They wouldn’t have stayed in business for 175 years, if they hadn’t been dealing with proper quality teas. :)
I always think of LS (from Teavana) as liquid bacon, and tend to make it on Sunday mornings. :-) Delicious stuff, but kind of an unusual taste. Glad that you found a brand/brewing combo that worked for you!
Oh lapsang has been a favourite of mine since the first time I tried it. I was curious and it’s not at all a popular type in Denmark. You can’t find it in supermarkets for example, but have to resort to actual tea shops. A friend of mine from England sent me some because I was curious. It was love at first sip. :)
Lapsang is definitely a new favorite for me, like you, love at first sip! I get a sweetness from it as well as smoothness. I always have to describe it to people at work, and they are always surprised that I say it’s got a touch of sweetness and that I’m not just drinking liquid smoke. It’s also good when I add a little sugar to it. Yum yum, lapsang!
I think it’s largely a love it or hate it type of tea. Some people can find the middle road where they can tolerate it but doesn’t particularly enjoy it. One of my colleagues is on the middle road, borderline hating it. She thinks it’s like standing in a smoke-filled room with a mouth full of water.
I totally get the sweet note you found. I think maybe it’s the same one that I experienced as a milky sort of feeling in this one.
Have not tried Lapsang before..sounds interesting but weary about the smokiness. I look forward to trying tho!
@Angrboda I don’t know if it’s entirely love/hate. I like it but it’s not a tea I can drink a lot of. It reminds me of lox or smoked white fish, which I used to adore as a child but could only eat a small amount. It’s an “appetizer” tea for me, not a main course.
By contrast, I can drink many of the flavored senchas by Den’s all afternoon.
I need to get my hands on some LS as well. Seems so intriguing!
Pine, I knew it! Drinking this right now, and gosh, it is a bit different than my usuals LS. But pine, yeah yep, very there in the scent, maybe not so much in the taste.