Tea of the morning…. (and my daily hard core black)
I picked up some of this on my recent order to Mountain Rose Herbs. The price was very good for an organic and fair trade tea at $4.50 for 4 ounces I was really wanting it for smoking up my Franken Breakfast Blend a little. (And the Assam at a similar price will be used to kick it up a notch….by the time I am done blending, I will be smokin’ and jittery.) I needed to try it on its own, though, just to see how the flavors would blend.
I have to say I was a little apprehensive on trying this as I am not super knowledgeable when it comes to this kind of tea. I have only tried a few varieties. It is not Hu Kwa, but it is very good. Definitely a campfire smell, but the tea itself is smooth and very easy to drink, like Keemun on overdrive. I am not sure a Lapsang noob like me would need anything fancier than this. It has me rethinking my planned purchase of Lapsang Souchong Black Dragon from Upton in the Fall. Yes, when I sweeten this, I get toasted marshmallows….or maybe I should edit that to read the burned torch-like marshmallows that you blow out before you eat them. Is that more accurate, Cheryl? ;)
The packaging is interesting. It is a cute cubical box with some kind of flip top arrangement. Then inside the box is a cello bag with a long free end that is rolled up and secured with tape. I am pretty sure by half way into this, the tape won’t hold much from resticking. I think I will end up transferring to a tin.
The only thing that really bugs me about this company is the price of shipping. It makes it so I can only shop there about once a year. They are in OR and I am in OH. Shipping starts at around $10 and goes up from there. I do like their stance and business practices. I do recommend having your order well thought out before your submit. I have seen online reviews of issues with returns and they do not allow you to change your order once it is submitted.
Usual mug method.
Preparation
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that is not very good customer service! :/
still,sounds deeelish!
Yes, it sounds like growing pains. From the reviews it sounds like their CS is hard to reach.
If my marshmallow turned black or even too dark, it got tossed into the fire, lol. Proof that my tastebuds are weird is that marshmallows actually fall into the “too sweet” category for me (turn into rice krispy treats and the pan is unsafe around me though). But yes Jen, more accurate : )
The shipping is really steep. I justify it by making only 2 or 3 big orders a year, and because I save sooooo much money buying culinary herbs in bulk from them. Also their rosewater is the best I’ve ever used…and their essential oils!
I went and ordered 3 different lapsangs from Teaspring after reading Bonnie’s description of a good one :) I also threw in some Tan Yang Te Ji to try! Just like the Gong Fu Black from Zhi tea, I am already sure it’s going to be good from your description :) I do have sone question – just curious – do they ship it so that you have to sign for your order? I saw that the no signature option was disabled when I ordered, leading me to believe I should expect a little green card instead of my tea, but wasn’t sure.
Yep, I had to sign for package from TeaSpring.
Oh, and looking forward to your reviews on the organic LS I am assuming you ordered!
If anyone wants to try a couple that I have from my local shop let me know. I like them!
Yes, I ordered the organic, the smoked, and the Yin Jun Mei Souchong. I will ask my husband’s thoughts – they are all for him. His fave so far is the Lapsang #1 from Harney from all the ones I gave to him so far, so we’ll see. I also ordered the higher grade of the Tan Yang as well as the Tan Yang Te
ji for comparison’s sake.
You will never ever ever ever ever guess what I did with my Lapsang Souchong tonight…..well….I don’t like the smell of my broccoli steaming in the steamer basket (and I had 2 bunches going from Whole Foods)…so I put 2 pinches of …you got it…Lapsang Souchong in the water and….oh WOW…the smell is wonderful and the flavor! So….good! Ya boy!
Man, I just looked at this website… and for me (one state away) the USPS shipping is only about $7. Which is totally made up by a purchase of tea at those prices.
I really need to try cooking with lapsang…
that is not very good customer service! :/
still,sounds deeelish!
Yes, it sounds like growing pains. From the reviews it sounds like their CS is hard to reach.
If my marshmallow turned black or even too dark, it got tossed into the fire, lol. Proof that my tastebuds are weird is that marshmallows actually fall into the “too sweet” category for me (turn into rice krispy treats and the pan is unsafe around me though). But yes Jen, more accurate : )
The shipping is really steep. I justify it by making only 2 or 3 big orders a year, and because I save sooooo much money buying culinary herbs in bulk from them. Also their rosewater is the best I’ve ever used…and their essential oils!
I went and ordered 3 different lapsangs from Teaspring after reading Bonnie’s description of a good one :) I also threw in some Tan Yang Te Ji to try! Just like the Gong Fu Black from Zhi tea, I am already sure it’s going to be good from your description :) I do have sone question – just curious – do they ship it so that you have to sign for your order? I saw that the no signature option was disabled when I ordered, leading me to believe I should expect a little green card instead of my tea, but wasn’t sure.
Yep, I had to sign for package from TeaSpring.
Oh, and looking forward to your reviews on the organic LS I am assuming you ordered!
If anyone wants to try a couple that I have from my local shop let me know. I like them!
Yes, I ordered the organic, the smoked, and the Yin Jun Mei Souchong. I will ask my husband’s thoughts – they are all for him. His fave so far is the Lapsang #1 from Harney from all the ones I gave to him so far, so we’ll see. I also ordered the higher grade of the Tan Yang as well as the Tan Yang Te
ji for comparison’s sake.
You will never ever ever ever ever guess what I did with my Lapsang Souchong tonight…..well….I don’t like the smell of my broccoli steaming in the steamer basket (and I had 2 bunches going from Whole Foods)…so I put 2 pinches of …you got it…Lapsang Souchong in the water and….oh WOW…the smell is wonderful and the flavor! So….good! Ya boy!
Man, I just looked at this website… and for me (one state away) the USPS shipping is only about $7. Which is totally made up by a purchase of tea at those prices.
I really need to try cooking with lapsang…