Unlike others I found the scent of this one to be only mildly to moderately smoky perhaps this is the result of transit or maybe I have had some very Smoky teas of this variety before. There is hint of pine, and a slightly sweet scent.
I brewed this one gongfu style.
50s orangey brown maple colour broth with a
scent of smoke, grain, and plum with a hint of honey.
As I said before this is not as strongly smokey as some lapsang souchongs I’ve had. The tea has a slightly heavier bodied tea underneath it. It is warming, with a hint of warm bread and honey followed by sweet ripe plum dipped in honey with a hint of cocoa. The after taste consists of a cooling sensation in the back of the mouth accompanied by a developing honey sweetness at the front, as well as a heavier hint of malt mixed with a mild smoked honey flavour. A lingering peppery sensation develops later on and mixes with the taste of honey. The tea still leaves me with a general feeling of warmth.
60s more bready/grainy less sweet on first sip but still sweet in the aftertaste.
There is a fruity honey aftertaste with a mild smoke and peppery cooling sensation.
70s slightly thinner, nice mix of sweet honey, bread and smoke, tastes like artisinal multigtain bread cooked in a wood oven.
90s smooth balance between smoke grain and sweetness, less sweet, smoke a little more dominant over other flavours. Honey still comes out in aftertaste.
110s smoke, grain, faint sourness honey.
130s honeyed water with hint of smoke and bread
250s same as last steep
Altogether quite a nice tea and a nice choice for those who like there Lapsang Souchongs to be sweet and honeyed. Thanks Laurent and Sophie for the Sample!
hmmm… may have to try this one. the smoke element usually precludes lapsang souchons for me, but there’s always an exception….