Hu Kwa

After a long week and a quick swim at the pool (trying in vain to get some exercise!) I am at home now. I can’t say what made me want to brew this one up but I was really craving it for some reason. Well, for one thing I was worried I might fall asleep before dinner started!

It is funny how tastes change. I never thought I would like a lapsang type tea OR a darjeeling, but thank you my Steepster friends for broadening my horizons & shrinking my bank account at the same time. :))

I think I made this a bit strong tonight as it seems extra dark and smoky but I am still enjoying it a lot… I still want to try cooking with lapsang one of these days!

Now someone please tell me how to get the water out of my ears!

I don’t want to GIVE AWAY my review…but…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUH6yvCyQvM

THIS IS FREAKING AWESOME!!!!!

I have been looking for a Lapsong Souchong JUST LIKE THIS! I FINALLY FOUND IT! Woot! Woot! Woot!!!!

I was looking for something with the strong smokey scent and was smoky to taste but didn’t have a funky after taste or too over the top while actually drinking it. I was also looking for one that didn’t taste like wood and was smooth. This is it! This just seems to have EVERYTHING I have been looking for in a smoky tea. I’m shocked…SHOCKED!!!!

Now…if you are one of those people who are the “more smokey tasting the better” this might not be strong enough in taste for you. At least the way I did it which was 1 to 1 and a half Tablespoons of loose leaf in 12-ounces of 190-200 degree water for 5 minutes.

Now that I know I like this I will tinker with amounts and infusion lengths.

I’m so happy now I could do the funky chicken!

Tea of yesterday afternoon…..

And thank you so much to narwhalclub for this sample. I have been curious about this tea for a long time.

This is a very good smokey tea. I don’t think the blend of teas in the base is quite as sweet as Lapsang Souchong Black Dragon from Upton, but it is still great. I love how smooth it is, and how balanced the smokiness is. I don’t feel like I am drinking a bitter campfire like the first few lapsangs I sampled. This one is definitely a keeper.

Usual mug method.

Where has this tea been all my life? Yes, the smoke is heavy, but it isn’t overpowering, and good wood and tea were used. This tastes like, erm, barbeque tea. Delicious!

Taking a break from household reconstruction to flit online and discovered this review is posted: http://www.itsallabouttheleaf.com/2213/tea-review-mark-t-wendell-hu-kwa-lapsang-souchong-2/

Incidentally, the cup in the profile picture survived the storm; it’s handle didn’t. :(

I have been buying this tea since the 1960’s and as far as I’m concerned it is the absolute best Lapsang Souchong tea there is. Over the years it has not deviated even slightly from its excellence. In comparison to other Lapsang Souchongs, many are far too strong and the tar taste is too intense. Hu-Kwa strikes the perfect balance with that wonderful smoky flavor and a hardy deep amber brew that warms your body and soul on a cold morning. This tea is simply the best…

Hu Kwa is purported to be the top-notch Lapsang Souchong from Taiwan. Steeping one cup at a time, I use one teaspoon of leaves per cup, and I steep the tea for five and a half minutes in just-boiled water, as per Mark T. Wendell Tea Company’s website. The dry leaves have a very strong smokiness to them, as is normal with Lapsang Souchong. However, with this one, there is a slight undertone of sweetness that can be noticed in the dry leaves. The aroma of the steeped tea is also quite smooth. Past experience with Lapsang Souchong has exposed me to some that were so rough as to suggest that perhaps one should be sitting outside on the ground around a campfire while drinking them, not sipping this noble drink in a more civilised setting.

The five and a half minutes is up, so I decant the tea to remove the leaves and allow the tea a minute or so to cool slightly (scalded taste buds do not make for accurate tea tasting). Heavily smoked is a good descriptor of the taste, but not overly smoked. That strange line of sweetness that went through the scent of the dry leaves is still present in the tea itself. The smoothness of this tea made it quite enjoyable to drink. Smooth and not thick. This tea deserves an 87/100 on my personal enjoyment scale.

This was a far lighter Lapsang Souchong than the usual campfire variety. There was even a welcomed floral presence I wasn’t expecting.

Review: http://www.teaviews.com/2010/06/30/review-mark-t-wendell-hu-kwa/

So, so, so delicious. Perfect degree of smokiness as well as smoothness. I like Lapsangs a lot, but I feel like I never have to try a new one again, (except maybe Upton’s Black Dragon Lapsang), because it’s going to take something beyond exceptional to beat this one. I could drink it everyday, and in fact, I think I just might.

I love this stuff and I think it is the BEST Lapsang Souchong. However, it makes lousy ice tea, so don’t try it that way

One of my go-to teas. Very smoky but always mellow—never bitter, which attests to the quality of the base leaf Hu Kwa is made from. The red liquor always sparkles.

This tea is has very strong, smokey flavors. I found the smokiness to be overpowering and I did not care for it. Victorian Afternoon, by Mark T. Wendell is similar, but not overpowered with smoke.

The smell of steeped Hu Kwa reminds of childhood memories – smell of a small pile of tinder just before putting them in the heating stove at my grannies in good old times. Dry leaves, on the other hand, attack you with their heavy smoke – just like sniffing the remainders of the last night’s campfire and remembering all that fun.

Unlike some other LSs, you can actually taste the tea under all the smoke. It is easily over-steeped which can result in an astringent aftertaste.

Overall, this is a great find for those who appreciate LS.

SO MUCH BODY. SO smooth. For such a long brew time, you’d think you would get a really strong, bitter cup. But I got a super nice smooth brew with a nice, sweet, light smoky tang on the sides of the mouth. Brilliant.