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drank Premium Lapsang Souchong by Dragon Tea House
987 tasting notes

So, I was about to start writing this, then glanced down to see what Ubacat’s review was going to be like, since she sent me this in a swap.

She didn’t like it. In fact, she positively hated it. That makes me feel a bit better, because when I had this tea this morning, I was unimpressed by it, even though I had 2 steeps. (ETA: Ubacat wrote her review just 7 hours ago! Imagine us having the same tea for the first time on the same day! Uba, we have such synchronicity!)

This is smoky, but it’s a very straightforward, bleh sort of smoke. Not nuanced or subtle. I detected notes of camphor in the brew, too, but otherwise it was a really dry and woody flavour.

Perhaps I’m spoiled because the first Lapsang Souchong tea I ever tried was Teavivre’s blend, and that’s still my favourite. Tell me, folks: did I ruin myself for all other LS teas by trying the Teavivre one first?

Sil expressed some interest in this, so I’m saving the rest to give her at the Toronto Tea Festival next week.
2 comments
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ashmanra
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My favorite Lapsang ever was probably Lapsang Crocodile from Dammann Freres with their regular LS being second. Then I suppose Black Dragon from Upton for the third favorite? No, Teavivre for the third. Or Zen Tea. We like Lapsang, LOL, it is our winter go to tea.

Ubacat
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Christina, I had just gotten that tea in fairly new and hadn’t tried it out yet. I wouldn’t have put it in if I had tried it first! I’ve gotten a lot of nice teas from some Aliexpress sellers but this was a new seller for me. At least you got to try it out. ;-)

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ashmanra
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My favorite Lapsang ever was probably Lapsang Crocodile from Dammann Freres with their regular LS being second. Then I suppose Black Dragon from Upton for the third favorite? No, Teavivre for the third. Or Zen Tea. We like Lapsang, LOL, it is our winter go to tea.

Ubacat
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Christina, I had just gotten that tea in fairly new and hadn’t tried it out yet. I wouldn’t have put it in if I had tried it first! I’ve gotten a lot of nice teas from some Aliexpress sellers but this was a new seller for me. At least you got to try it out. ;-)

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Bio

Updated March 2016:

I’m a writer and editor who’s fallen in love with loose-leaf tea. I’ve also set up a site for tea reviews at http://www.booksandtea.ca – an excellent excuse to keep on buying and trying new blends. There will always be more to discover!

In the meantime, since joining Steepster in January 2014, I’ve gotten a pretty good handle on my likes and dislikes

Likes: Raw/Sheng pu’erh, sobacha, fruit flavours, masala chais, jasmine, mint, citrus, ginger, Ceylons, Chinese blacks, rooibos.

Dislikes (or at least generally disinclined towards): Hibiscus, rosehip, chamomile, licorice, lavender, really vegetal green teas, shu/ripe pu’erh.

Things I generally decide on a case-by-case basis: Oolong, white teas.

Still need to do my research on: matcha

I rarely score teas anymore, but if I do, here’s the system I follow:

100-85: A winner!
84-70: Pretty good. This is a nice, everyday kind of tea.
69-60: Decent, but not up to snuff.
59-50: Not great. Better treated as an experiment.
49-0: I didn’t like this, and I’m going to avoid it in the future. Blech.

Location

Toronto, ON, Canada

Website

http://www.booksandtea.ca

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