Hide

Welcome to Steepster, an online tea community.

Write a tea journal, see what others are drinking and get recommendations from people you trust. or Learn More

Lapsang Souchong from The Tea Smith

Steepster Score 2 Ratings Rate This Tea

60/100

Lapsang Souchong

Black Tea by The Tea Smith

Not for weak tastebuds, Lapsang Souchong is a traditional Chinese black tea that has been dried over a pine fire. Since tea absorbs the flavors around it, guess what it tastes like… Actually, this selection has a balance between the smoke and tea tones, so it is not overwhelming.
-
The Tea Smith
Omaha, NE
www.theteasmith.com

2 Tasting Notes

Doulton
24

Today I rolled a “1” in the fabulous Geek Pride game created so wonderfully by RABS. Right now I have only two packets left and both are “8’s”. I was, of course, thrilled to see a Lapsang Souchong because that’s my personal favorite default tea. But because it had a label of “1” I thought that there might be a flaw.

Lapsang Souchong does not always work. It ALMOST always works but not always. I don’t know, for example, what that stuff is that Tea Farm sells under the name. This is better, but I gave Tea Farm a rating of “3” out of “100”. I wanted to give it a “0” but the furthest to the left I could go was a 3. I digress.

This is a better Lapsang Souchong, but I would call it only marginally better than Tea Farm. This one does have some taste but I kept drinking it and hoping to get something more. I felt a bit like a Marlboro smoker who was suddenly trying the lightest cigarette out there—-(not having been in the situation, my metaphor may not work). Sometimes you see smokers frantically sucking on their cigarettes as if they are trying to pull in even more tobacco. Well, I was slurping at this tea trying to find more flavor, more smoke, more something. It’s got enough taste to remind me that I love a good Lapsang Souchong but not enough taste to provide any satisfaction.

I felt glad to sample this tea because I am collecting Lapsang Souchong experiences and it’s good to know the gamut.

Thank you, Rabs for giving me a new one to try!

Rabs
26

This had a lighter smoke scent than what I’m used to. I’d put the scent as even mellower than Golden Moon’s LS. The fragrance of the cup was also smoky, but without the fragrance of pine that I enjoy.

Oh my. Um…so it’s lacking the sweet undercurrents that I love in the few lapsangs that I’ve had. It has a harsh, almost stinging bitterness that’s assaulting my mouth – especially at the back of my throat. I keep clearing my throat. That astringency comes and goes (one time I came close to tossing my cup), and it’s the first time I’d call a LS “ashy.” It’s like I rinsed out an ashtray and drank the runoff water. I am very glad that I only purchased a sample. I’ll finish it off over time, but there will be no resteeps here (I did do a resteep today with very little change in taste). My temp accuracy (or lack thereof) should be fixed by next week when my new electric kettle arrives (squee!) – so I will try this again with the for sure recommended steep temp and will update if my rating changes as a result. GA

So, to sum up:

Adagio’s LS = RAWR!
Golden Moon’s LS = Meow
The Tea Smith’s LS = a dirty alley cat hacking up a furball