The leaves here are uniformly dark and around 1/4 an inch in length. The aroma is extremely pungent and smells heavily of dark wood and campfire smoke.
The aroma from the spent leaves is decidedly weaker. I’d say less than half as strong, but clearly still camp firey. There’s light sweetness to the spent aroma which doesn’t carry through any of the infusions, though it’s also lingering in the aroma from the extra-dark amber liquor.
The smokey, fired, woody flavors some out nicely throughout the brew and across three or four steepings. Unlike lesser grade versions of this tea, there’s relatively little astringency and almost no dryness on the palate. Just a smooth, steady, consistent campfire flavor.
If you like smokey teas, you’ll love this Lapsong Souchong. You may also enjoy it if you like Pu’erhs.
