Slightly more than 100 pages into War and Peace and I can’t believe I didn’t have the guts to pick up this book before. It’s bulk scared me. But man, is it a fast read. I needn’t have been scared, it’s such fun I feel like I want to lock myself in a room with it and only come out to make tea. But alas, that’s unlikely. I have to go to that wretched weight work out soon and then we might go see Toy Story 3 or at least I’d like to if we can pull it off.
In any case, I decided drinking something with the word Russian in its name would at least keep me feeling like I’m locked in the room even if I’m not. In the sample packet this one smells nice and smoky, as I’d anticipated, very much like the H&S straight lapsang with the volume turned down by a half to two thirds.
After steeping its aroma is a bit milder. I wonder if Keemun is one of the four teas in here? Maybe Ceylon as well? The underlying tea has a sort of sweet, woody smell to it with a bit of smoke.
There’s a mild smokiness in the flavor, which is actually quite nice, and there is also some gentle woody flavor. I could see this one being a nice morning tea. Although I haven’t tasted it in a while, this one is making me think of Upton’s Baker Street Blend but without the perkiness. If there is darjeeling in this, I can’t tell. This one has a mildly smoky flavor that would make a nice segue into smoky teas for someone interested in giving them a try but not yet up for the very tarry, piney strength of the more intense lapsangs.
This is going to make it into my Russian run off, for sure.
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You are really beginning to make me curious about that book! I’ve thought about it before myself but I too was scared by the size of it. And it’s always that one that people use as an example for a really long book. I’m not always a very fast reader so I’ve got two fairly big ones to get through first, but I might give it a go afterwards.
That’s an interesting sounding tea
@Angrboda, yeah, I know. My edition is about 1500 pages long in paperback, but if the rest goes as fast it won’t take that long to read. It’s surprisingly humorous; very interesting commentary on the Russian upper class in the early 1800s. There was one line that cracked me up, something along the lines of the way one of the characters talked you couldn’t tell whether he was really brilliant or a total idiot. I have known people like that!
Thematic tea drinking! One of my absolute favourites.
You are really beginning to make me curious about that book! I’ve thought about it before myself but I too was scared by the size of it. And it’s always that one that people use as an example for a really long book. I’m not always a very fast reader so I’ve got two fairly big ones to get through first, but I might give it a go afterwards.
That’s an interesting sounding tea
@Angrboda, yeah, I know. My edition is about 1500 pages long in paperback, but if the rest goes as fast it won’t take that long to read. It’s surprisingly humorous; very interesting commentary on the Russian upper class in the early 1800s. There was one line that cracked me up, something along the lines of the way one of the characters talked you couldn’t tell whether he was really brilliant or a total idiot. I have known people like that!
Thematic tea drinking! One of my absolute favourites.