Outlaw

Dry this tea smells mostly like cherry to me. There’s something else there that I thought was part of the cherry flavoring (you know how some flavorings can be strong and almost boozy smelling when fresh?) but now I think it might just be the smoke. As with the other August teas I’ve tried, I followed the package instructions for my first time making this tea (boiling water, 4-5min, approx 1 tablespoon per 10oz water). The brewed tea smells smokier than the dry leaf. I taste more smoke than cherry too. The cherry didn’t disappear, the smoke is just stronger than it was in the dry tea. I’m not really enjoying this one. I let my cup cool too much before drinking and it’s just not great at this temperature. Maybe it would be better hotter. The cherry tastes unpleasantly artificial to me. I’m not sure if that’s the added flavoring or just the combination of smoke and cherry. I think I’ll try it with milk/cream next time to see if I like it better that way. And I’ll definitely try to drink it before it cools to lukewarm next time. I like the size of these sample packages…enough tea to make more than one cup so you can experiment with the preparation a little bit (or fix any oopsies that occurred) but not so much that you might end up stuck with a ton of tea you hate.

I made a cup of this for myself and one for my partner. Mine ended up undrinkably bitter and his ended up slightly bitter with a little bit of smoke and no fruit taste at all. Not sure what I did to this one but at least I have a few more cups to try again!

A generous and unexpected gift from amandastory516.

Bursting with cherry right from the bag. More cough drop on the back end. Once steeped, the smoke from the Lapsang comes thru. Not overpoweringly so. Is overpoweringly a word? The cherry has also become more subtle. Not so Punch You In The Face.

PS – I’ve gotten so lazy with my notes lately. And my tea drinking to think of it. I’m home, sitting mere inches from the tea cabinet and this is the first cup I’ve had in a week. What’s going on here???

Group share – Favorite comfort tea to get you through a global crisis? Which ones were you saving that you’re drinking now?

Smoky black teas are not something I reach for regularly, but they have some sort of allure that keeps me coming back (albeit irregularly). Outlaw has a little more allure than most and kept me amused all last night (erm, unintentional Tobias moment).

Honestly though, I think I like this one. It’s something to do with the flat cherry vanilla coke vibe I’m picking up (I mean that in the most flattering way). It also reminds me of the time I got to lick a cave in Poland (mineral notes, kay). It’s a lot of fun, and I’m sitting somewhere in the 80’s on it. I’m going to hold off rating for a bit because I’m not having as strong a reaction to it as I did with the Black Lodge (I think someone thought that name to be nostalgic and homey, but all it makes me think of is some horror story).

And just look at all the parentheses it inspired me to use!

I don’t know what it is doing outside, but inside it feels chilly and damp, which to me is the ideal weather for something smoky.

This is my second day drinking Outlaw from the sample that Dexter so generously shared with me when we met up for our city walk. Yesterday, the cups didn’t leave much of an impression. It was just kind of ok. Perhaps I had steeped too briefly. Today, however, boom—I am definitely enjoying this smokiness and the faintest whiff of cherrywood. Nothing froo-froo about this at all. A solid masculine tea. Love this.

Sometimes, it takes a few cups to find one’s way around a tea. Delighted to have another cup or two of this to enjoy.

Thank you, Dexter. Good call, this.

First tea of the morning.

I added some cashew milk into it this time because last time I thought it was a little harsh and I remembered wanting to mellow it out a little bit.

I think the cashew milk is doing wonders here; the tea is definitely still thick and very smoky with tobacco, ash, and leather notes but I don’t feel nearly as assaulted by it and it’s smoother/creamier . Previously, it had a level of astringency that sort of felt the way that nail on a chalkboard sounds. In addition to the wonderful Lapsang, the cherry also comes through very nicely. It’s dark and seductive, and tastes sweet without having the brightness that a bing or maraschino cherry would have. If this cherry note were a person, it’d be at the point in life where it’s a bit of a Silver Fox. You know, still very hot/attractive but with hair starting to grey and wrinkles in just the right places. Yes, this cherry is the Clooney of cherries…

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rv_nBEgwCaw&index=1&list=WL

Ah, perfect mood music! Completely matches the tone of the tea and is submersive in every way. Plus, Iwan Rheon is just so nice to look at. Whether you see him as Simon from Misfits or Ramsey from GoT I think you’ve gotta agree the man can sing…

Thanks for sending this one my way for me to try Dexter The dry tea is incredibly smokey, but that translates in to a brew that is not quite AS smokey as the dry suggests. When this is first made, all i can taste is the smoke. Good for me that i enjoy the occasional smokey cup. As it cools though, the cherry starts to peek through and it becomes a cup with much more going on. Going to need to try this one again to decide where i stand on it :)

Final Count yesterday: 80

I got my August Uncommon order today. So excited. Their packaging is so beautiful – the tins are sealed with pop off lids. I got a free scoop and a little brewing guide book, there was also a handwritten note – I love personal touches like that.
IMHO all August Uncommon blends are a little unusual and this one is no exception. I can’t quite put my finger on what this is like. It’s a little smokey. It’s a little cherry. There is some bitter – kind of like dark chocolate but not quite. There are other notes in here that I can’t quite decide what they are. Odd but in an interesting sort of way. This is complex and balanced but still confusing somehow. I’m on the fence a little on if I “like” it. I feel it grow on me and it certainly is interesting enough to keep me coming back for another taste. Will resteep it to see how it changes.