That was a bummer. The dry leaf smell was nice – sweet and berry-like – but the taste was simply not there. It was like desperately trying to see the details by staring in the dark window of an abandon house, festooned with grime and cobwebs. I could discern some malt, berries, chocolate and undefined sweetness – but it was so barely-there and muted…. And that was for the first steep, with the second steep being simply undrinkable.
Most likely, it is simply a tea that is old and was stored carelessly. Which is a bummer since I do like lapsangs and was looking forward to trying this one.
Flavors: Berries, Caramel, Chocolate, Malt
Comments
My local coffee haunt sources a small selection from TeaSource, and recently got this one. I was excited since I love unsmoked Lapsang Souchong (and can’t stand the smoked stuff!) I, too, was completely underwhelmed. I actually wondered if it even was an unsmoked lapsang because it didn’t really taste anything like others I’ve had…
I was unimpressed with China tea offerings by TeaSource overall: they were not bad but quite unremarkable. I always want to give American regional tea companies a chance… but they almost never measure up to the vendors operating directly from China, Taiwan, Japan etc. in quality and the breadth of choices.
Of course, TeaSource are more known for their blends, which are not my main focus of interest. So, maybe it was not meant to be for us from the beginning.
My local coffee haunt sources a small selection from TeaSource, and recently got this one. I was excited since I love unsmoked Lapsang Souchong (and can’t stand the smoked stuff!) I, too, was completely underwhelmed. I actually wondered if it even was an unsmoked lapsang because it didn’t really taste anything like others I’ve had…
I was unimpressed with China tea offerings by TeaSource overall: they were not bad but quite unremarkable. I always want to give American regional tea companies a chance… but they almost never measure up to the vendors operating directly from China, Taiwan, Japan etc. in quality and the breadth of choices.
Of course, TeaSource are more known for their blends, which are not my main focus of interest. So, maybe it was not meant to be for us from the beginning.