Baker Street Afternoon Blend (TB75)

Wow, I had to go into my previous orders from Upton, and was surprised to see that the sample I ordered was placed ten years, one month ago!!! I remember being hesitant placing the order for this sample. Why? Well, because I don’t like Lapsang teas. Straight Lapsang teas are very smokey, and to me, overwheming. Maybe, ten years later my appreciation for Lapsang Souchongs would be improved.

Luckily, this blend was mainly a balance between Keemun and Darjeeling teas, with a touch of Lapsang. A really good blend with no tea overpowering the other, but nicely complimenting each other. The touch of Lapsang was noticeable, leaving the tea mildly smokey. I learned a couple things a decade ago. First of all, I like mildly smokey teas, and Lapsang can be enjoyable. Lastly, a well balaced tea such as Baker Street, can be very enjoyable. Much like a well balanced life can make living more enjoyable!

Been doing Upton Imports sampler thunderdomes, two teas at a time, sometimes with comparison qualities obvious (same flush or estate darjeelings, say), sometimes less so, like here where I compared Upton TB75, Baker Street Blend (keemun, darjeeling, and lapsang), with Upton TB54, Sunday Tea with Vanilla East Frisian Blend.

Love the way this smells dry, that wonderful smoke. Bacon-y brewing. Sort of like “lapsang lite”—it really does taste like a cross of smoke tea with darjeeling, which is unusual but pretty cool. It’s like masculine meets feminine sort of; there’s the smoke in the fore but also the floral, perfume-y thing in the background.

Doesn’t need sugar or milk. There’s some bitterness at the end of the swallow but it’s not unpleasant; it fits the whole profile.

I could definitely see making this an afternoon tea break choice in the future. Wouldn’t call this an essential restock, but high up there as an option among a few any given afternoon.

This was my first time ever drinking a tea containing Lapsang Souchong. I wasn’t sure if I liked it, my girlfriend was sure she didn’t, and we didn’t finish the pot.

But, I keep thinking about it. I think this is a slow-simmering affair and LS and I are going to wind up together in the end.

Just got my order in yesterday and had some of this last night. I steeped it for only 4 minutes and was slightly underwhelmed, but I just steeped some for 5 minutes and that seems to do the trick. I feel prepared to comment properly now.

First off, what struck me first was the smell of the dry leaves. “Why does it smell like beef jerky?” was my immediate thought last night, and I checked again tonight to see if I’d imagined it — nope, still smells like beef jerky. Fortunately I have been reading the Harney and Sons tea guide and now I know why it does. This tea incorporates Lapsang Souchong, so that explains the smokiness. With the shorter steeping time I didn’t get the smokiness in the brew, but tonight I can taste it. I can also smell it from the brewed tea. Very interesting! I could really get to like this. I will definitely get some Lapsang sometime soon to which to compare.

This is a good “wintertime” tea, I would bet. It doesn’t have the heavy caramelly tone I’m used to with Golden Monkey but is much lighter in taste No astringency at all, not even when it begins to cool. Color is a dark amber brown.

2 tsp tea brewed for 5 minutes with boiling water, with 2 tsp rock sugar, no milk.

The Lapsang blends in nicely with the other teas in the mix, giving a nice smoked taste that compliments rather than dominates (I usually don’t like anything with Lapsang in it). Rich and robust, I accidentally put too much sugar in the first cup, but the tea wasn’t even phased. I let it steep for a long time, and it wasn’t bitter, which is always a plus. This is perfect tea for a cold rainy day…which just happens to be today. My uncle said it tastes kind of like scotch to him.

I ordered this as part of Upton’s “British Sampler”.

In the tin, the smell was very smokey, almost like a recently put-out campfire.

Brewed, this tea retained that campfire smell, but it was much reduced.

I was wary of the Lapsang, but it blended surprisingly well. I have not knowingly had Keemum before, so I could not pick it out with the first cup. The Darjeeling added an interesting floral hint, and because of the Darjeeling, I was wary of adding too much sugar, or even a bit of milk. I finally decided the LS was strong enough to warrant a dribble of milk after a few sips.

This tea is definitely growing on me.

Pretty darn good. This is my 2nd Lapsang tea and 1st ever taste of a Lapsang blend. The other Lapsang I’ve had is the Twinings Lapsang Souchong, straight up. It’s waaaaay more intense than this and way overpowering. Fun sometimes but a bit over-the-top. This one is a lot more chill and British-y. It’s tasty, and it as a bit of that funky flavour but it’s not in-your-face and it’s not too much to handle. Really nice. I’m not a huge Darjeeling fan (at least not yet) but the blend here is really nice. Would definitely buy this again.

I loved this tea from the first time I tried it. There is a distinct smoky quality (especially if not left steeping too long. It’s not the smokiest I’ve tried but rather leaves me feeling relaxed as if I’m sitting next to a fireplace.

This is a really excellent tea. The Upton description is right that it’s mildly smoky—oddly, I am usually not too wild about Darjeeling or Lapsang Souchong teas, but somehow this mix balances the smokiness of Lapsang Souchong perfectly to my taste. Darjeelings often taste very floral to me, but I don’t get that with this blend — not sure if it’s because of a low amount of Darjeeling, or it’s a nuttier one. A hint of smoke, a hint of nuttiness, and a nice full Keemun background tying it all together. I definitely recommend it.

This is good. The smokiness of the dry leaves carry into first steep. Behind the smoky facade, there is a nipping quality to this that I like -sort of a touch of iron in your palate. Not sure whether it is the Keemun or Darjeeling, but it’s definitely welcome.

IMHO, second best of the British Blend Sample. Not sure if I should get the full size though.