Florist Lapsang

A sipdown! (M: 2 Y: 2) prompt: A tea you put off drinking

I don’t really know why I put this tea off; maybe because I was afraid it would be too smoky, or just haven’t got a mood for gongfu, or…

It seems that all smokiness is gone by now. Smooth and floral cuppa, with hints of red fruits and some woodiness. Works well to me, however I am not able to point out exact flavours. But it’s cozy enough in snowy afternoon.

Advent Tea! Wow this is nicely smooth and floral. Not a whole lot of smoke here, but I’ll try to steep it a few more times. A nice change of pace from clove and ginger and chocolate. The second steep was still floral, but quite a bit weaker. Maybe I’m expecting too much from this delicate brew, but I wish it steeped longer. Thanks for sending it Lexie!

There is Lapsang in the aroma of the dry leaf but it is light. A gentle scent that embraces you but doesn’t overwhelm you. Makes me think of Northern Minnesota on Lake Superior. Water lapping at the rocks and making that sound I love along with that scent of bonfire mixed with coniferous forest. This tea is all around a perfect example of that area. The flavor reveals nil to limited smoked flavor. But as a black tea, it is quite elegant. (And I slightly laugh to myself thinking about the Elegant Prof in Spy X Family). Light woody tones. Bits of cedar and tree decaying in the forest. Wet forest floor. Same with the wet leaf but to a higher degree.

Sipdown 168-2021
This was an absolute joy to drink. It reminded me of a bug bitten oolong- sweet honey and stone fruit flavors melded beautifully with the soft floral notes.

It’s been a while since I got the chance to sit down and spend a while with a tea, I’m glad I found the time for a quiet morning with this one. Highly sweet and syrupy, a little lighter in color and flavor than I expected, with faint floral overtones. It’s not as intense or striking as some of w2t’s other lapsang options, but with a few tasty subtleties I enjoyed paying attention to.

update: I made the vegan chocolate cake from Smitten Kitchen’s website using this instead of water and it was delicious.

Gongfu Sipdown (1327)!

On a sipdown role!! Brewed this up a bit strong in one of my Arbee Ceramics pots. It’s got a lovely syrupy liquor with a mix of very golden honey, wildflower, and beeswax notes – some infusions had a sweet French Bread note as well, and a raisin-y fruit note to the undertones and finish. I agree with W2T’s description of this lapsang having a great deal of depth to it; I was pleasantly taken aback by all of the honey sweetness at first, but as I get farther into the session and started stacking infusions I felt as though I was settling into a place of comfort and familiarity with this tea. In my opinion, it’s not as unique as some of the other unsmoked Lapsang from W2T and I feel like I would be more much inclined to reach for Fruit Bomb or Strawberry Lapsang, but I’m thoroughly enjoying this!

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CLAHHNXApIm/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMFNgrOuiXA&ab_channel=Morly