Lotus Market Organic Lapsang Souchong

Adventaggedon Day 14: Tea 1/8

Another day where I’ll just be powering through tasting notes because I’m so fucking tired. Honestly, it wasn’t so much that my day was busy but I’ve just felt like complete shit since my dentist appointment yesterday and my bite is still very weird and sore. So, I went through the day in a total haze that was just filled with headaches, jaw pain, and general soreness.

I was miserable and my tea drinking was rushed and not as pleasant as I would have liked it to be. I slept through most of the evening, and I didn’t fight it because clearly I needed it today. However the result is that I now have just over an hour to crank out all my tasting notes before midnight. That said, my tasting notes would have been shit today even if I wasn’t scrambling to write them so quickly. I just… was having a rough day.

I really should have been much more excited for this tea because I fucking love Lapsang in all its forms – smoked and unsmoked. I steeped this up gongfu with a few slices of ripe nectarine and it was good but, well, my heart just wasn’t into it. Even though the leaf wasn’t spent yet, I tapped out after three steeps because I needed to move on to the next advent tea and I was just feeling more tired trying to focus on the session.

Cameron’s tasting note is really good for this though! I got much of the exact same tasting notes as she did, but she’s taken much better time to phrase them/describe them.

Sorry KIani Tea – this should have been a favourite but the day was shit.

Kiani Tea Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 14

I actually have a non-black tea from Fortnum & Mason today, so I get to enjoy this lovely unsmoked Lapsang with my toast and jam instead! :D

This tea is thick and satisfying, and heavy on the caraway and rye bread notes that I find to be a trademark of Fujian black teas. It’s a bit like I’m eating my toast already as I sip it! There’s also some woodiness, and an undercurrent of dark bittersweet cocoa. I’m not getting much in the way of fruit, perhaps a dark and syrupy dried fruit like date or fig, but only a hint of it. There is a deep brown sugar sweetness though, with a bitter edge like caramelized sugar that’s gone just a touch too dark. I taste dill as well, which is an interesting savory touch that contrasts well with the sweeter sugar notes. It’s a very strong tea overall, even though I used the usual amount of leaf. I could definitely see sipping this as a wake-me-up morning cuppa!

My jam today is Strawberry-Verbena Spread. Not one of my favorites if I’m honest, though I do love the strawberry part. The verbena is just a bit too herbaceous, and though it’s slightly minty I’m not enjoying it nearly as much as the peach & mint pairing. There’s just something about it that doesn’t sing to me. Ah well, still perfectly tasty he he.