Lapsang Souchong Star (organic)

Now that it’s starting to get cooler, I’ve been drinking a lot of this tea. It smells like a campfire. Which brings back good memories and adds a lot of unique flavor to this tea.
Speaking of flavor, because of the strong smoky flavor, you either love it or hate it.

Edit: Looking back on this tea, it’s not one of my favourite LS.

HOLY SMOKES!

This morning I decided to drink some tea in my collection that I haven’t tried yet. I found a package of this buried deep in my tea drawer. For some reason I expected this to be boring, maybe that’s why it’s been sitting around collecting dust. This was definitely NOT a boring tea.

I read the label before tearing open the package and figured the “aroma of pine wood fire” was going to be one of those nuanced things that only people with more refined taste/smell would detect. Imagine my surprise when I tore open the package and BAM, instant campfire smell. I had no clue that lapsang souchong is actually smoked! (As a side note, the small silver zipper bags that DAVIDsTEA uses are amazing at blocking the smell. I wish I could buy these bags to store/swap tea in.)

Once steeped, the tea still has a strong smoky aroma and flavor, though not quite as overwhelming as the dry leaves. It definitely had a whiskey-like quality to the taste as well. I got a very good three steeps out of this (adding 30s to the steeping time with each resteep). It’s probably good for another steep or two, but I just can’t make myself drink that much smoky tea. I would be interested in trying other varieties of lapsang souchong to see how this compares.

The bottom line is that this tea has an excellent smoky smell and taste that is reminiscent of whiskey, but you should definitely be in the mood for it.

Dry leaves have an overpowering smoky smell, but don’t get fooled by it, steeped tea has a very complex and pleasant aroma with distinct black tea notes. This tea might not be something you’d drink every day; it’s one of those that you know absolutely positively you want to have. Other reviews of campfire in a cup are spot on, I can only add that a warm night spent outside with a cup of this will de-stress the busiest bee. If you ask me beats the hassle of camping any time. I can’t help myself but savor every sip I take, it opens up with new notes each time. Re-steeps well and it doesn’t oversteep easily first time, go bold or go home.

This was my first time trying this type of tea, and I’ll admit I was skeptical. It seems to be a love it or hate it kind of tea, and I reallllly wanted to love it. I had planned on getting a small amount to try on my last trip to Halifax, but when I had the chance to smell it I decided to go with 50g instead of 25.

The smoky scent of this tea is strong – so strong that I was seriously worried about having a coughing fit when I actually drank the tea. It isn’t a bad smell by any means; it is comforting, like a bonfire. Actually what it reminded me of most was going through Spaceship Earth at Epcot when I was little and the smell of the scence where Rome was burning. That was my first thought even at the store and I knew that even if I didn’t like the taste of the tea, I would love to just open the bag up to feel nostalgic once in a while!

My fears of the smoke being to strong in the brewed drink were immediately dimished on the first sip. Instead I found the tea to be surprisingly smooth and extremely comforting. I was worried about oversteeping, and probably left it a few minutes longer than I should have, but it had no sign of bitterness whatsoever.

I definitely don’t think this will be an everyday tea for me, but I’ll definitely always keep some on hand for cold rainy or snowy days!

I won’t be the first one to say that isn’t the best experience I had with Lapsang Souchong. However, the taste is definitely there: smoky and wicked strong. This one definitely is more fragrant smelling than the one I’m used to, but from what I remember in terms of taste, it was hard to stomach at first. The longer this one steeps, the better it gets. Don’t know what I can recommend for steeping time, because my leaves sat at the bottom of my mug. Try 5 min. to be safe.

I originally picked up this tea for my mum, who doesn’t live near a loose leaf tea store. She’d picked it out based on the online description. Being curious, I sniffed it before sending it to her, and vowed that I’d never drink it. It was too smoky, too much like BBQ.

Fast forward a few weeks. I stop in at David’s Tea, and ask the staff which tea would make a good latte to go. Their suggestion? Lapsang Souchong Star. Sure, I said, doubting the decision.

Shockingly, it was wonderful! I loved it. The smooth flavor, the smoky but not overpowering taste. In fact I liked it so much, (and surprisingly, my mum didn’t) that I got her to send the tea back to me.

It’s not something I drink every day, more of a special occasion tea. I do find a whole pot of it to be a little overwhelming, and prefer to drink just a mug full at a time.

I had never tried a smoky tea and the fact that the description mentioned the smell of cigars is what hooked me. I love that smell. On opening the package, my first thought was that it reminded me of the same sensory experience you get from smelling bacon. That smoky familiar comforting smell. A friend told me it reminded her of a camp fire. It’s true. You can definitely smell the pine fires … heck you can almost hear them!

I love a smoky taste whether it be in hams, salmon or well … bacon … so I love this tea. The taste is definitely not for everyone one as it is relatively strong and I’m sure an acquired taste for some. The smell that it emits however is comforting and takes you back to sitting out by a beautiful fire. Definitely one of my favorite teas … it’s becoming part of my own little personal permanent collection!

Maybe I shouldn’t review a tea that clearly is not my taste…

Not for me. I like a good peat smoke scotch so I was thinking I’d like this tea but no go. Very strong smoked smell that is hard to get past. The actual tea tasted ok but I can’t get past the smell to enjoy it.

i love lapsang souchong tea, but this one isn’t as strong as others i’ve tried. the Tea Store in the Byward Market in Ottawa has a stronger, smokier version.

This is a tea you are going to love or hate. It as a smoky, campfire taste. Only drank half of it before i dumped it out…. i hated it. I know some people like this kind of tea, if you are one of those people you will enjoy this.

The smoky flavour was strong and intriguing, so I decided to try a cup of this today.

Honestly, when brewing, the smoky scent reminded me of bacon. …I never thought I’d find a tea that reminded me of bacon….

It is certainly a unique tea. I find the flavour a little better with milk, but it’s not a favourite of mine. I can imagine someone else really loving it, but smoky teas apparently aren’t [quite literally] my cup of tea.

Davidstea is well known for his flavor tea, but he also do some awesome straight tea.
Like this one.

This one is organic and it’s a GOOD thing because you taste really more the pure tea taste through the smoky blend. It do remember me summer nights in front of a big fire warming up with friends and just kidding, drinking beer and… Yeah fun!

It’s a pleasant tea, especially during winter. :)

Ok, so I knew it was going to be intense, but wow… I got a whole tin because I really want to give this one a good chance to grow on me. A lot of people are saying it takes them some time before they can appreciate it. For now, the flavour profile includes my grandparents’ wood stove. I’m sure I’ll get back with more later..

I tried this strictly because I have never tried a smokey tea and because the name was so bizarre. I didn’t know how to pronounce it, so I figured it was exotic enough to be a refreshing change.

I had some today. I didn’t hate it. But I definitely didn’t like it.

It tastes like a barbecue in a cup to me. I felt like it should be savoury, but it wasn’t. And teas shouldn’t be savoury cause that thought makes me uncomfortable.

Anyway. Reminds me of a Pu Erh brewed inside a barbecue and with an addition of hickory for good measure. That’s the best description I could come up with.

My first and last try of this tea.