Russian Bonfire

It’s rather chilly here, so after I had my one cup of coffee this morning I decided to have some hot tea. I told myself that I should drink something that was already open, but I’ve3 been wanting to try this one since it arrived a few weeks ago. I’ve never really liked smoky teas until I tried a couple from 52Teas.

The smoke here seems a bit lighter. That may be because I don’t have my sense of smell right now. It’s a very nice tea I won’t have any trouble finishing the ounce I got. But I think I like my smoky teas with additional flavoring.

I am moving October 27. I have spoken to my brother multiple times about going off on his mini vacations. He hasn’t been home 5 days in a row since last April. He doesn’t care, so I signed my lease on Friday. I will be home with Mom one evening evening a week, and for a 4 hour block on either Saturday or Sunday.

I am so much looking forward to being on my own again. Right now making tea is a chore.

I wanted something smoky today, but this one isn’t quite hitting the spot. The jammy flavors aren’t in this cup, which is part of what made it unique. Another instance of tea hoarding going bad? It’s coming off as a lapsang with an edge that gets sharper as my cup cools. I need to figure out what plum or jam flavored tea I have and start mixing it with this when I steep. I still have a decent amount of this left to go.

This sample seems like an appropriate choice for my 666th note (current politics aside, my family also escaped the Soviet Union back in the day so I’ll rarely miss an opportunity to take a dig at Russia – come at me, bots). Unfortunately, I really dislike smoky teas so I’m mostly in this for the pun. I only steeped it for three minutes – the lower end of the recommended time – in hopes of cutting down on the smoky flavor. It didn’t work. All I can taste is the lapsang souchong smokiness. Maybe a hint of berry in the aftertaste? I tried adding a splash of rice milk, which successfully toned down the smokiness to a level that I’m comfortable drinking, but I still can’t make out any other flavors. I just don’t think this tea is for me. It’s not a knock on the tea; I just don’t enjoy smoky teas and can’t get past that here.

I was really feeling the need for something strong today. Thursday are often a struggle for me. I’m not sure why. It just feels like it should be Friday already at this point. But enough about this day; let’s talk about the tea.

Smoky, yes. Robust. Reminiscent of a campfire, perfect for fall. The orange and yellow flowers jump out like crackling fire and complete the picture. It’s a wonderful addition to round out the story.

Very good! I love Lapsang Souchong tea so I wanted to give this one a try. It’s not as smokey as my straight Lapsang, but for fans of this type of tea who don’t care for heavy smoke this should be perfect. It’s incredibly smooth with a light fruit undertaste (as the website states, a bit jammy). The smell is also great – not heavy on the smoke smell but it’s there.