Lapsang Souchong

EDIT: I think that Adagio has done something very WRONG with their Lapsang Souchongs in the past year—or else my taste has evolved. I would not order from them again. It’s weak and synthetic.

Have I ever met a Lapsang Souchong I did not like? Does a bear wear a mitre around hte Vatican? I wanted to test some Adagio samples and sprang for a full-load of this and do not regret it.

I think that Narien LS is smokier and stronger and I like the sweetness that Black Dragon from Upton Teas adds, but Adagio has acquitted itself more than honourably here. Very well done and their speedy shipping is deeply appreciated.

I know that I will order this again. I have a perpetual motion machine going of various Lapsang Souchongs coming in and going out and I don’t know that I will develop loyalty to any one brand—beyond my need to keep Black Dragon in stock. Knowing that I like this tea so much, I might see if I can concoct a special blend, although I cannot conceive of a Souchong sharing center stage with other flavors.

And I now see that this is my tasting note #200! It is right and fitting that it be in celebration of a Lapsang Souchong.

Le sigh…

I realized that I haven’t had this tea in about 2 months due to my overflowing tea cupboard (and bookcases). I actually picked up some decorative picture album boxes this weekend to use for sample storage. I also broke down Doulton’s Shakespeare box and took it to the recycling bin at work yesterday. I actually don’t want to think about that right now cuz it’s makin’ me a bit sad.

I really wondered what I’d think of this tea due to the fact that it’s been so long since last I had it. I became quite excited to have more of this as I pulled out my sample tin. After all, last time I had this I was winging the temp and this time it’d be accurate. Oh yes, it’s still yummy — if not yummier. It still seems to have captured the essence of a cozy campfire. Still a TG for me. Off I go for steep #2!

Cold, rainy weather…check. Long, rough day at work…check. Strong desire to get new samples of tea…check.

All of these things mean it is time for some comfort, coming tonite in the form of tomato soup and Lapsang Souchong from Adagio. I have had a few other samples of the souchong since I wrote this first review, and I have to say, that I am finding this to be different than my first brew, probably because of shorter infusion time. This cup went 3.5 minutes with no additives. The tea was still slightly sweet up front, full bodied black in the center finished off with the warming, smoky flavor.

Absolutely delicious, going to brew another cup right now.

i got a small sample bag of this so i could keep tinkering with my personal sherlock blend. but i put one scoop aside so i could try it straight.
not the best lapsang i’ve had. but still smokey and sweet all at once. not bad not bad at all. just a little flat in comparison to the possibilities. but i wouldn’t be surprised if i ordered the sample size of this the next time i place an order.

Alright, let me just say that I know people who really like this and thats all good but for me this just tastes straight up nasty. The smell is pleasant to me though, reminds me of summer camp and making bonfires. The steeped tea smells even more like a bonfire and leaves a strong oder in my filter, oh well. The taste is very smoky and reminds me about the worst part of summer camp, starting up a failing fire. There is also an after taste that is very similar to smoked ham. I hate ham. Always have. So it’s safe to say that this is not something I want ever again. Though I might try from somewhere else just to see if this is something that is isolated to Adagio’s or to all of these. My roommate loves it though so they can have it.

The first time I heard about this tea was well before I really became a fiend. It was in a book, I’ve long since forgotten the name, that my friends had read and would joke about. I later read the book, cover to cover as I was crushing on the girl who lent it to me, and the description the main character had given was that the tea “smelt like water that a ham bone that had been boiled for a week.” Or something very similar.

I agree, it smells like jerky. But their are other elements to it. I can definitely smell and taste the pine, along with the smokey-ness its known for. It kind of tastes a bit like ham, but I haven’t eaten meat, ham especially, in ages so I might have forgotten. As it cools it almost like the resin of the pine is in my mouth. Very piney for me, a little smoky, and kinda meaty. As I don’t like any of these things, I don’t like this tea. But its not that the tea itself is bad, just not what I like.
I’m gonna go brush me teeth.

I’ve been waiting for another “Be Brave” day to try Lapsang Souchong. I like the salty, smoky way it smells dry but I have a hard time seeing it as a tea. I can picture using it as a marinade over seitan or tofu and I may try that at a later point.

I brewed it light with less leaves than I normally do and for less time, just 3:30 minutes. (It smelled so strong in the sample, I couldn’t imagine doing my normal kamikaze tea routine.)

It brews up into a light honey colored amber, though I’m sure that if i brewed it for four or five minutes it would be darker. It has a campfire smell that is reminiscent of smoked food, as someone said it smells like bacon or smoked meats. It has a light sharpness in the smoky taste. I can definitely see using this tea in cooking, especially to soak seitan or tofu in. I don’t mind it too much as a tea drink, either. Though I put it in the same category as drinking pickle juice: something fun and strange to do to wake up my taste buds, but not an everyday quaff.

Growing to love this more and more. May become a new everydayish winter tea.

Thank You Garrett for sending this one. Hmmm where’s the beef?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnikaebsSAA&feature=related Except in this case where’s the smoke? I love a good lapsang. Whether it’s been smoking a pack a day or trying to quit and switched to ultra lights. I love cooking with lapsang. Marinating beef for chili or throwing a little bit in the crock with pot roast. Kinda like in So I Married an Axe Murderer if it’s not Scottish it’s crap and if it’s crap it’s not Scottish. Any lapsang would make me happy but it has to have a the smoke! I am disappointed because I have enjoyed everything that I have sampled from Adagio. It’s a decent black tea at base. Much like the Gong Fu black from Teavivre or another Chinese black from the Fujian province….sadly as far as lapsangs go this just doesn’t cut it.

WOW this tea was unlike anything I have ever had before! QUITE AN EXPERIENCE! I always considered things like ASSAM to be kinda malty and smokey but WOW THIS. THIS is what smokey tea really is. It was like drinking a campfire. Or some kinda fresh jerky, without the meat. REALLY UNIQUE but in the end… I THINK I LIKED IT!? I definitely want to try something like this again!