Lapsang Souchong Wild Black Tea

Another Teavivre winner! This one is really bready/yeasty, and has a bit of a savory quality to it. It’s also incredibly sweet and honey-like (more of an avocado honey). This one is also quite thick and rich.

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I’ve been neglecting my straight black tea samples. Well no more!

This is very yummy. It has a rich malty, bready flavor and a thick body. There’s a little touch of savory that reminds me of smoked meat or something similar. But also here is a creamy, starchy honeyed sweet potato sprinkled with dark muscovado sugar, and a tart yet deep syrupy dried cherry note.

Such an interesting combination of flavors! It’s a highly satisfying tea that makes me feel as if I’ve just eaten a small meal. And the sweet potato with the dried fruit and deep sugar tastes like autumn in a cup!

Happy National Compliment Day! Unsmoked Lapsang Souchong is one of my very favorite teas!

I’ve technically reviewed this before, under the listing for Dazzle Deer (as I hadn’t realized at the time they wholesaled from Teavivre), though I’m fairly certain that was a 2017 harvest (review is here: https://steepster.com/mastressalita/posts/379074 ). This is an April 2018 harvest of the same tea, which I bought from Path of Cha, which, like Dazzle Deer, also wholesales a small selection of Teavivre items, so you don’t have to buy freaking 100g at a time (which I refuse to do).

Used 2.5g of tea for 350ml 195F water, steeped for 3 minutes. The aroma of the steeped tea is warm spices, honeyed oranges, and a slight smokiness that, when combined with the sweet citrusy scent, reminds me of BBQ sauce.

The flavor is warm and inviting. It’s a bit malty/bready, with a lovely light smokiness, and some notes of sweet potatoes, honey, orange peel, and a very subtle hint of cocoa. It has such a lovely, smooth liquor.

While I don’t like this unsmoked lapsang as much as the sample I had from Whispering Pines once (that particular one had this amazing rose note to it), this is still a staple Chinese black for me.

This one is tasty! I’ve always steered clear of Lapsang Souchong due to the smokiness, but when this one was clearly marked unsmoked, I had to pick up a sample.

The flavours here are malty cut through with hints of a coppery-ness, or perhaps brightened honey.

DIY Advent Calendar – Day 22

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Thank you for sharing this one with me Sil. I noticed the smell of it was not overly smokey but instead it had almost a malty cocoa smell. That took me by surprise. And when it continued through the taste I was even more surprised. So surprised that I even checked the package to make sure it was the right tea. This is my surprise favorite of the day! It’s just so cocoa-y and bready. If someone brewed this for me and didn’t tell me what it was, I would never guess it’s a lapsang. There is hardly any smoke at all. Plus, it’s reminding me a lot of Jiri Horse by teabento. Yum!

Backlog – sipdown actually 6/16
unsmoked version of this tea
small twisty leaves that smell of chocolate
2min, 205F
chocolate

dry smells – bready, yam, cocoa
1. 3min 212F – yam, cocoa, fruit
2. 3 min 200F – fruit, sweet, coating as it cools
3. 4 min 200F – candy sweetness, fruit, juicy, small sour note in background.

It’s a better at a little lower temperature. But this tea is pretty old now and a lot of the flavor has been lost. Still I wonder, why would you smoke this tea? I might order some more to try.

tea from earlier this morning. On my own today and tomorrow for the most part to get whatever i can done around the house that isn’t super strenuous. Though husband dearest would prefer it if i just spent the weekend reading and playing video games while drinking tea. heh. I just can’t bring myself to do nothing to help us get organised. it’s not in my nature. Started the day with this one and it was a really pleasant cup. started out with notes of cocoa in it, and as it cooled became a little more fruity. Still a good cup :)

Have you ever tried a tea so bad that it traumatized you for the entire variety and you thought you’d never drink one again?

I felt that way about Lapsand Souchong until I tried this one.

Unlike every other one I’ve tried, “smokey” is not the first word that comes to mind. Instead, it reminds me rather of the smell of boiling wort (beer being made before it becomes alcohol): yeast, molasses, malt, and a hint of something slightly earthy and infinitely pleasant.

The flavor hits the front of my tongue with a smooth, coating sense of buttery-ness, turning to the sweet flavor of warm molasses as it hits the middle. By the back, I get a mild astringency and loam-y scent and flavor.

From being horrified by lapsangs in general, this tea has totally turned me around! I’d be happy to have it on my shelves.

Today I was craving a good black iced tea. This… is really good!
I brewed it hot and poured it between a few containers to cool it down before pouring it over ice. It’s just as great of an experience, but different. I will need to make this more often, now that I have my own supply of wild unsmoked Lapsang Souchong! The malt is very strong, and so are the sweet honey notes. Mmm!

Lately I’ve been trying to finish off some of my samples, and avoid buying tons of new tea for a little while, but I’ll definitely get this when the opportunity appears. I’m finding I really love teas from the Fuijan region, because they seem to have that chocolatey/sweet profile I like so much. I expected this one to be smokey, since I think I’ve only ever had smoked lapsang souchong, but it’s instead a soft, toasty flavor. I loved it utterly.