90
drank Lapsang Souchong by Samovar
2036 tasting notes

Lap three. The self-talk, or more like self-prattle, that is going on right now is along the lines of “you can do it, do another one! Do Lupicia! Do American Tea Room!” While this may be appropriate while running actual laps, it seems clearly obsessive and possibly gastro-intestinal suicide when talking about a comparison tasting of a tea with this flavor profile.

The Samovar offering looks much like the Life in Teacup in color and leaf size. The dry leaves smell of smoke (quelle surprise!), more smoke than ash, but also have a salty meaty tang. Beef jerky more than bacon. It gives the impression of heartiness.

It steeps deep, dark and clear. Brandy, or maybe single malt scotch in color. It’s been so long since I had either that I can’t remember which is darker. :-P It’s the darker one.

The aroma is where it starts to get really interesting for comparison purposes. Underneath the smoke is the signature Samovar malty sweetness, with the beef jerky note roller skating figure eights through the rest of the aroma.

What an interesting flavor this is. It’s literally beefy. It’s smoky bouillon. It’s smooth smoky boullion with a sweet, almost wine-like, sugary undertone. I’m thinking of beef bourguignon now for some reason, though it really doesn’t taste that grapey. It has a very nice aftertaste. Sweet, smoky, and cooling to the mouth. It is, I’d say, full-bodied.

So now I have a dilemma. I don’t know where to rate this, comparatively. I like it quite a bit. But I also like the GM and I may have used too much water there. I’m not sure which I like better and maybe I’d like the GM better if I’d steeped it better. I have a feeling the Life in Teacup version is closer to the accepted lapsang souchong standard, just from what I’ve read about it in books. But these others are nice, too, and who says there isn’t room for interpretation. And I’ve only tasted three. I’m starting to work myself up into anxiety over this. Takes deep breath and exhales smoke. Maybe I should have a cup of tea and relax.

Final result, I’m calling it a tie with the LIT.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec
sygyzy

“lap three” – lol

SoccerMom

I love the part about you taking a deep breath and exhaling smoke! :))

Lori

Love these LS reviews today! I tried my first LS (which happens to be Samovar’s) this morning. So now I can get a good comparison of the differences…

sygyzy

Good thing you girls like LS. Now when your husbands/boyfriend take you camping, they can rest assured you’ll probably like it.

__Morgana__

Thanks! Lori, will be interested to hear your take on this one.

AmazonV

you’re a baby dragon? ;)
i love the 3-lap review!

__Morgana__

Lol, AmazonV. Cough cough… fire!

Rabs

I’m so proud of you! Another brilliant (and very funny) side-by-side epic comparison :) I shall be digging through my GM sampler tomorrow morning for their LS. Thanks for the reviews!

Ricky

lol to the post and comments =]

~lauren.

Loving the baby dragon cough cough … fire! thing! Now, I won’t be able to drink LS without that association making me smile!

__Morgana__

Glad I could brighten a Friday, and provide some info as well. I had fun doing this and writing about it! Next stop… maybe cookies. Lol.

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Comments

sygyzy

“lap three” – lol

SoccerMom

I love the part about you taking a deep breath and exhaling smoke! :))

Lori

Love these LS reviews today! I tried my first LS (which happens to be Samovar’s) this morning. So now I can get a good comparison of the differences…

sygyzy

Good thing you girls like LS. Now when your husbands/boyfriend take you camping, they can rest assured you’ll probably like it.

__Morgana__

Thanks! Lori, will be interested to hear your take on this one.

AmazonV

you’re a baby dragon? ;)
i love the 3-lap review!

__Morgana__

Lol, AmazonV. Cough cough… fire!

Rabs

I’m so proud of you! Another brilliant (and very funny) side-by-side epic comparison :) I shall be digging through my GM sampler tomorrow morning for their LS. Thanks for the reviews!

Ricky

lol to the post and comments =]

~lauren.

Loving the baby dragon cough cough … fire! thing! Now, I won’t be able to drink LS without that association making me smile!

__Morgana__

Glad I could brighten a Friday, and provide some info as well. I had fun doing this and writing about it! Next stop… maybe cookies. Lol.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

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Bio

I got obsessed with tea in 2010 for a while, then other things intruded, then I cycled back to it. I seem to be continuing that in for a while, out for a while cycle. I have a short attention span, but no shortage of tea.

I’m a mom, writer, gamer, lawyer, reader, runner, traveler, and enjoyer of life, literature, art, music, thought and kindness, in no particular order. I write fantasy and science fiction under the name J. J. Roth.

Personal biases: I drink tea without additives. If a tea needs milk or sugar to improve its flavor, its unlikely I’ll rate it high. The exception is chai, which I drink with milk/sugar or substitute. Rooibos and honeybush were my gateway drugs, but as my tastes developed they became less appealing — I still enjoy nicely done blends. I do not mix well with tulsi or yerba mate, and savory teas are more often a miss than a hit with me. I used to hate hibiscus, but I’ve turned that corner. Licorice, not so much.

Since I find others’ rating legends helpful, I added my own. But I don’t really find myself hating most things I try.

I try to rate teas in relation to others of the same type, for example, Earl Greys against other Earl Greys. But if a tea rates very high with me, it’s a stand out against all other teas I’ve tried.

95-100 A once in a lifetime experience; the best there is

90-94 Excellent; first rate; top notch; really terrific; will definitely buy more

80-89 Very good; will likely buy more

70-79 Good; would enjoy again, might buy again

60-69 Okay; wouldn’t pass up if offered, but likely won’t buy again

Below 60 Meh, so-so, iffy, or ick. The lower the number, the closer to ick.

I don’t swap. It’s nothing personal, it’s just that I have way more tea than any one person needs and am not lacking for new things to try. Also, I have way too much going on already in daily life and the additional commitment to get packages to people adds to my already high stress level. (Maybe it shouldn’t, but it does.)

That said, I enjoy reading folks’ notes, talking about what I drink, and getting to “know” people virtually here on Steepster so I can get ideas of other things I might want to try if I can ever again justify buying more tea. I also like keeping track of what I drink and what I thought about it.

My current process for tea note generation is described in my note on this tea: https://steepster.com/teas/mariage-freres/6990-the-des-impressionnistes

Location

Bay Area, California

Website

http://www.jjroth.net

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