Lapsang Store

Gongfu Sipdown (1496)!

Steeped this one up over last weekend. It was probably my least favourite tea from Lapsang Store that I’ve tried so far, but that’s not too say it wasn’t good. All of their teas have been quite good. It’s nice and brothy with notes of toasted sweet potato, pleasantly bitter cacao, oak, and just a bit of walnut. A bit like a cozy umami bomb – as much as anything with “bomb” in the description can be cozy, anyway.

Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/CUicCmIr0_Z/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2JXSgdE8U&abchannel=KeatonHenson-Topic

Gongfu Sipdown (1419)!

This is the tea that I started last night’s virtual tea hangout with. Overall I’ve been pretty impressed with all of the teas I’ve tried from Lapsang Store but I think this is the one that’s spoken to me the least? It wasn’t bad at all though, just a different sort of flavour profile than what I usually lean towards in a black tea. Very brothy/umami and savory with thick woodier notes and a little bit of a gamey/leather kind of “musk” to it? Also some bitter cacao notes, and a beeswax style dark honey note.

I don’t know why it didn’t speak to me because none of those are flavours in black tea that I dislike – I think it just pushed a bit too hard in terms of the umami/woody kind of vibe for what I wanted in that moment. I appreciate and recognize the quality of the tea though; maybe in a different setting this would have been delicious & I would definitely still recommend this to others if any of the notes above are things that you typically like a black tea.

Gongfu Sipdown (1403)!

I spent Monday and Tuesday this week working “on location” for a work project and, like any IG tea addict, I packed with a bunch of tea and teaware so that I could Gongfu during the work day. The space I was in was very cool, and I got to enjoy some really lovely session in pretty beautiful locations.

This was the first of four session enjoyed over those two days – a very early morning session that helped push me through a sluggish start to the day. I am definitely not used to having to get up as early as I did on those days. While this was an overall short session, it was filled with delicious and complex notes of cherry wood, smoke, semi sweet dark chocolate, brandied red fruits & plum skins. I really just have the emphasize how enjoyable all of the samples I’ve had from Lapsang Store have been!

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CN2k9-sgZbo/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9a3ZFp_lD-M&ab_channel=BennySings-Topic

Gongfu Sipdown (1331)!

Wish I had more info on the teas in these multi-coloured packets from Lapsang Store since they’re basically all labelled the exact same thing. They definitely do not taste the same though. This one was a little smoky, a little woody, and a little dark and bitter baker’s cocoa – with some golden and toasty bread aromas! This was a nice mix of semi sweet and umami notes, and a perfect session to end the afternoon with before a lazy evening curled up and cozy!

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CLVG-YsgVIM/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zu0a_6I4X1M&ab_channel=MackintoshBand

Gongfu Sipdown (1289)!

One of several samples gifted to me by this company! I liked the first a lot, so I was holding my breath to see if this second one would live up to my first experience. Spoilers: it definitely does! Sweet smelling dry leaf right off the bat; fine black leaves scattered with golden tips and an aroma of sweet bread right out of the oven, honey, and red fruit. The liquor steeps up very golden, and that golden appearance seems to translate into the taste as well; warm and sweet with notes of hot buttered bread, red jams, honey, prune, and malt – just a hint of cocoa in the finish. Something about it makes me feel toasty. Really enjoyed this sample a lot!

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

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ngovg7LDhiw&ab_channel=BlueRainBoots-Topic

Gongfu Sipdown (1181)!

Big thank you to Lapsang Store for kindly providing me with this sample, along with several others, for free! Most of the samples are labelled as simply “Junmei China” but the colour of the sample packets is all different – this is the first one I’ve tried, so I’m curious and excited to try the others and see how/if they vary depending on the colour of the packets…

Times like this are when I wish I knew how to read Chinese – even just a little.

It was yet another in a series of grey afternoons when I steeped this. This tea, however, is sweet and full bodied with a sticky lingering liquor and notes of overripe red fruits, marmalade, and honey with supporting undertones of leather and malt. I managed to stretch this session out quite long before the leaf seemed spent.

For any Steepster friends on IG who might be curious about the company, they’ve also offered to give a discount code to anyone who reaches out to them on IG and mentions that they came from post. I get no kick back/benefit from you doing that, so only do it if you’re curious about the teas. Just thought I’d share though, ’cause discounts are cool.

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CHlYpDAAp3P/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVYx2EjLQtQ&ab_channel=iana