Maybe it was the tea fairy’s plan all along to have me spill my Rosy Earl Grey which then forced me to place another Teas Etc. order with a sample of this tea included. Perhaps the tea fairy is less capricious than I had thought. Because I loves me some of this tea!
The dry leaves smelled…like an old ashtray?…but not tabacco-ey at all. I was majorly concerned. Steeped it’s a very light smoke (says the Lapsang Souchong lover). I wasn’t impressed with the first few sips. I was getting a woody taste, almost like cardboard and no sweetness. It seemed rather flat. And then slowly this tea started to morph. It seemed like a yummy wood taste (now reading the description it’s like “oak!” ::facepalm::), the smoke is still more of a feeling than a scent/taste, and there’s the nicest sweet aftertaste left over from the sip. Warm Fuzzy detectors engage. My “I need MORE NOW!” feeling kicked in and I knew that this tea’s a keeper.
I’m drinking the second steep right now (added 1 minute to steep time) and I’m liking it more and more. The sweetness is shining through. It’s not as aggressive as most LSes, all the flavors I associate with smoky teas are present, but much more subdued. You know how tv shows and comics have a tendency to turn their characters into babies? http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SpinoffBabies
Well, this is the baby version of Upton’s Black Dragon. If I had to chose between the two it wouldn’t even be a contest: Upton would win with its maturity. But this tea is yummy in its own rights and has earned a permanent spot in my cupboard. TG
