1
drank Lapsang Souchong by Golden Moon Tea
244 tasting notes

I think this is one of those tea types that you will either love or hate. I don’t think that there’s a lot of room for somewhere in between, here. I am in the latter camp. So far, this is the worst tea I’ve ever had.

I was excited about the prospect of trying a completely different, new-to-me kind of tea, and I am still very happy that I got to try it. I’m even happier that I didn’t go out on one of my tea-buying adventures and spend a bunch of money on this; the Golden Moon sampler was more than enough.

I put the water to boil, took out my kitchen scissors, and snipped the end off the packet. There was no need to stick my prodigious proboscis in the packet and inhale deeply—it was like the aroma was just waiting to escape, and within a matter of moments my whole kitchen smelled like a smokehouse. Having no knowledge of lapsang souchong, I was quite taken aback and rather sceptical. Instead of adding my customary demerara sugar to the tea, I actually felt like adding salt. The whole thing was a very strange experience, and I hadn’t even tasted the tea yet.

Well, things only rolled further downhill from there. I took one (unsweetened) sip of the tea and the flavour accurately matched the aroma. I didn’t like it, but I thought I would give it a chance, so I tried a few more sips. In my mind, I was drinking water that had been poured into a mug by way of a bed of coals. This might be the first mug of tea that I couldn’t finish because it made me physically ill. Lesson learned: I do not like lapsang souchong. =)

Preparation
Boiling 7 min, 0 sec
__Morgana__

It is definitely a polarizing tea. Though I like it, I can’t drink it often. With some of the particularly resiny versions, the taste stays with me much longer than it is welcome. The smokiness feels like its still in my skin and the inside of my nose for days after I’ve had it. I prefer the ones that have a salted meat or pine needle flavor along with the smoke to the ashy, resiny ones.

Nik

I can see the appeal of that, I think. I might be tempted to try a shot glass-sized sample of bacon tea, if such a creature exists. After I get over the trauma of this tasting, that is. =)

Daisy Chubb

If you ever get some Maple Bacon tea from 52teas Nik, the smoke flavour is VERY light, so I think you might enjoy it!
If we ever do a swap, I’ll throw some in :3

Terri HarpLady

Although I’m not a big fan of drinking Lapsang Souchong, I have a recipe that uses it to marinate a baked chicken, which was an interesting change of pace. If you’ve got some of the tea sitting around & want to use it up, I’d be glad to pass the recipe along.

LiberTEAS

Not all Lapsang Souchong is created equal, either. I recommend trying the Lapsang Souchong from Dr. Tea http://www.teagarden.com/black-lapsang-souchong-c-38-p-2-pr-400.html … or even trying an unsmoked Lapsang Souchong like this one from Townshend’s Tea http://www.townshendstea.com/black-teas/unsmoked-lapsang-souchong

Nik

Thank you for the suggestions and replies, everyone. @Terri: This was just a sample, so I haven’t any of it left (thank goodness). @DaisyChubb: omg there is such a beast‽ That’s pretty awesome. Thanks for the swap offer! I’ll drop you a line when I’ve updated my cupboard and maybe we can sort something out.

Daisy Chubb

Sounds good Nik! No rush, I’m waiting on some funds before I have some money to send off a package, but I will definitely save you some for when the time comes :D

jenny wren

If you ever run across one that says it is very lightly smoked maybe try it again some day…it might grow on you.

Nik

If I do, Jenny, I will need to remember to use a different mug. Two days and three washings later, my mug still smells like that blasted tea! [growly face]

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Comments

__Morgana__

It is definitely a polarizing tea. Though I like it, I can’t drink it often. With some of the particularly resiny versions, the taste stays with me much longer than it is welcome. The smokiness feels like its still in my skin and the inside of my nose for days after I’ve had it. I prefer the ones that have a salted meat or pine needle flavor along with the smoke to the ashy, resiny ones.

Nik

I can see the appeal of that, I think. I might be tempted to try a shot glass-sized sample of bacon tea, if such a creature exists. After I get over the trauma of this tasting, that is. =)

Daisy Chubb

If you ever get some Maple Bacon tea from 52teas Nik, the smoke flavour is VERY light, so I think you might enjoy it!
If we ever do a swap, I’ll throw some in :3

Terri HarpLady

Although I’m not a big fan of drinking Lapsang Souchong, I have a recipe that uses it to marinate a baked chicken, which was an interesting change of pace. If you’ve got some of the tea sitting around & want to use it up, I’d be glad to pass the recipe along.

LiberTEAS

Not all Lapsang Souchong is created equal, either. I recommend trying the Lapsang Souchong from Dr. Tea http://www.teagarden.com/black-lapsang-souchong-c-38-p-2-pr-400.html … or even trying an unsmoked Lapsang Souchong like this one from Townshend’s Tea http://www.townshendstea.com/black-teas/unsmoked-lapsang-souchong

Nik

Thank you for the suggestions and replies, everyone. @Terri: This was just a sample, so I haven’t any of it left (thank goodness). @DaisyChubb: omg there is such a beast‽ That’s pretty awesome. Thanks for the swap offer! I’ll drop you a line when I’ve updated my cupboard and maybe we can sort something out.

Daisy Chubb

Sounds good Nik! No rush, I’m waiting on some funds before I have some money to send off a package, but I will definitely save you some for when the time comes :D

jenny wren

If you ever run across one that says it is very lightly smoked maybe try it again some day…it might grow on you.

Nik

If I do, Jenny, I will need to remember to use a different mug. Two days and three washings later, my mug still smells like that blasted tea! [growly face]

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Bio

2012.10.07: I hear people like to understand other people’s ratings, so here’s a loose guide:

01-29: Dear God, why.
30-49: I’ll finish this cup, I guess, but no more.
50-59: Meh.
60-69: Decent. Maybe I can blend it with something else and make it better.
70-79: Heeey, this is quite good!
80-89: I love it, but I’m not in love with it.
90-100: Permanently resident in my Happy Place.

Update: I have steeped, and it was good. =] Still a tea-ophyte, though.

This is a tea site, so I feel like “well, I’m Indian” should be enough of an introduction. Because, I mean, it’s kind of in my genes, right? But the fact of the matter is that I’m an absolute tea-ophyte.

I’ve just discovered a world beyond Celestial Seasonings. I’ve just discovered “sachets” instead of “normal” tea bags and bought my first loose tea sampler. I don’t get the whole water temperature and steep time thing yet, nor that if I want to get a yixiang tea pot, I’d need one for each type of tea. I have this infuser ball thing, but I haven’t used it yet.

Don’t cringe, but right now I’m still just boiling water and pouring it over a teabag, adding some sugar, and drinking a nice, hot cuppa. I’d like to learn more, I think, and I’d like to train my palate. I figure participating in this community is the best way to do that.

So ya. Hi!

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