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KiwiDelight drank Lapsang Souchong Smoky Black Tea (Yan Xun Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong) by Teavivre

371 tasting notes

Brewed with a gongfu glass tea pot.
Steeping parameters: No rinse. 30 seconds, 45, 60, 120

This would be my second Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong, the first being from Wegman’s years ago. From the dry leaf alone I can tell that this one is of much better quality. Short and twisty, unbroken, they mostly are very dark – near black – peppered with a few golden leaves. They smell of burned conifer wood and smoke. The wet leaf aroma, of barbecued spare ribs. A hint of vanilla rises from the liquor.

Reddish in color, clear, and smoothly textured, it tastes much like it smells, and then some, including a pungent yet mellow smoky meat flavor. This tea leaves behind a sweet barbecue sauce aftertaste and a dry throat.

No rating, but recommended since I enjoyed it. I wouldn’t have this kind of tea often, but this is one I would go to if I wanted something different and smoky.

Preparation

195 °F / 90 °C 7 g 6 OZ / 177 ML

I Like This

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2 comments

Cwyn
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I just used my leftover smoky souchong leaves for a rub on roasted chicken legs. They were amazing.

KiwiDelight
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That sure sounds delicious! Never considered using leftover tea leaf for meat marinade.

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Comments

Cwyn
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I just used my leftover smoky souchong leaves for a rub on roasted chicken legs. They were amazing.

KiwiDelight
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That sure sounds delicious! Never considered using leftover tea leaf for meat marinade.

Profile

Bio

I began drinking tea because its complexity fascinated me. I love learning about its history, its manufacturing processes, and its place in various cultures.

Japanese greens were my first love and gateway into the world.

My favorite teas are leafhopper oolongs, pu’erh (shou and sheng), and masala chai. My favorite herbal tisanes are spear/peppermint, lavender and chrysanthemum.

I’m currently exploring pu’erh, and any Chinese and Taiwanese teas in general. I’m not much into flavored teas, unlike when I first started. The only teas I truly dislike are fruity tisanes and the ones that have too much fruit. I do like hisbiscus, especially iced.

I like to write nature essays. I’m a birdwatcher as well as a tea enthusiast. The kiwi is one of my favorite birds. I also like Tolkien, Ancient Egypt, and exercising.

IMPORTANT NOTE, PLEASE READ: After two and a half years of having an account here, I will no longer will provide numerical ratings as an addition to the review because the American school system has skewed my thoughts on numbers out of a hundred and the colors throw me off. Curses! My words are more than sufficient. If I really like what I have, I will “recommend”, and if I don’t, “not recommended”.

Key for past ratings:

96-100 I adore absolutely everything about it. A permanent addition to my stash.

90-95 Superb quality and extremely enjoyable, but not something I’d necessarily like to have in my stash (might have to do with personal tastes, depending on what I say in the tasting note).

80-89 Delicious! Pleased with the overall quality.

70-79 Simply, I like it. There are qualities that I find good, but there also are things that aren’t, hence a lower rating that I would have otherwise like to put.

60-69 Overall “meh”. Not necessarily bad, but not necessarily good.

0-59 No.

If there is no rating: I don’t feel experienced enough to rate the tea, or said tea just goes beyond rating (in a positive way).