Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
Here’s a decadent and unique treat for tea and chocolate lovers. This is one of six new blends we created for our Box of Chocolate samplers. Lapsang souchong is a unique Chinese black tea that is smoke-dried over pine fires. This gives it a one-of-a-kind smoky flavor. For those who are not familiar with smoked teas, our tea of the week this week is a great introduction since we’ve blended the lapsang with (non-smoked) Nilgiri black tea, organic cacao nibs and natural rich chocolate flavoring. The combination yields a decadent, exotic and comforting cuppa that will leave you craving more.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I am not sure what I think about this tea just yet, to be honest. Usually, before I start writing a review, I have a clear idea of how I’ll approach it, but with this tea, I’m not able to do that, because I’ve not yet formed my opinion about the tea. I hope that as I continue to write this review while sipping on the tea, my ideas will come to me. I hope you do not mind me taking you on such a journey!
I usually brew Lapsang Souchong teas in my gaiwan using short steeps, and that’s how I brewed this tea at first. But unfortunately, the short steeps rendered a tea that had very little chocolate flavor because the short steep time did not extract enough flavor from the cacao nibs.
So, I brewed the rest of the sample that I had in this tea in my smart brewer, and hoped that it would turn out better than the previous brewing. I steeped it for 3 minutes using boiling water, and the result is much better: I can taste chocolate now.
But, I also taste a very strong smoky essence from the Lapsang Souchong. I know, I know, that’s supposed to be the idea, right? With a name like Smoky Chocolate, it should be smoky. But I am not so sure about the balance between smoke and chocolate with this. I think I would like it to be a little less smoky and a little more chocolate-y. As it is, the chocolate is delicious, but it’s a little overwhelmed by the smoky notes.
That’s not to say it’s bad. It’s actually good, and the flavor becomes more appealing as I continue to sip. I like that the tea base is a blend of Lapsang Souchong and Nilgiri tea to help cut back on that smoky pine taste just a little. The backdrop of tea flavor is strong and flavorful. I taste hints of pine and an earthiness to the cup, and I find that the earthiness in particular is quite complementary to the flavor of the chocolate.
Is this a favorite from 52Teas? No, but, I did enjoy it, and am glad that I got to try it. I do like how the chocolate and smoke flavors taste together, although I think it would have been better if there was a little less smoke and a little more chocolate. I do find that the chocolate flavors intensify as the tea cools, so if you find with your first few sips of this tea that you want more chocolate taste, just let it cool slightly and I think you’ll discover that chocolate flavor you’re searching for.
This tea is featured in the Box of Chocolates Sampler, and it was the Tea of the Week for the week of February 6, 2012.
Lapsang Souchong from Dr. Tea’s Tea Garden
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Dr. Tea’s Tea Garden
About This Tea:
The story goes that Lapsang Souchong was first created when the Wuyi region’s annual tea drying process was interrupted by army movement. To compensate for the missed drying period, tea farmers hung their tea over pinewood fires, consequently imparting a distinctive smoky flavor and aroma. Our Lapsang Souchong is sourced by Mark Ukra, co-owner of Dr. Tea’s Tea Garden, who comes from a family of Middle Eastern tea merchants dating back 400 years. Drink Lapsang Souchong plain or try it as a spice or rub for cooking.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
January’s Steepster Select box brought teas that to help warm us up from Winter’s Chill. The first tea that I tried from the box was this Lapsang Souchong, which is a little unusual for me since it’s one of my least favorite teas (well, not this Lapsang Souchong, but Lapsang Souchong in general is one of my least favorite teas).
But this is no ordinary Lapsang Souchong. This is easily the best that I’ve ever tried. Now, I can’t say that I’ve tried a lot of Lapsang Souchong teas, as it is one of those teas that I tend to avoid, but I have tried a few, and I’ve even managed to – slowly – get my palate more accustomed to the unique flavor experience of Lapsang Souchong. While I am slowly gaining an appreciation for this strong, smoky tea, it is still sometimes difficult for me to get past it.
This Lapsang Souchong from Dr. Tea’s Tea Garden has been a real eye-opening experience for me. I am not just “appreciating” this tea … I’m LOVING it!
The first couple of sips are quite smoky. But once I get past those first sips, I find wonderful flavors await me. I can actually taste the pine here, and that is something that I didn’t really experience in previous Lapsang Souchong tastings. I may have tasted mere hints of pine in the distance, but, mostly what I tasted was smoke and the caramel undertone. Here, the pine is quite distinct and it is lovely.
The caramel undertones are there as well, giving a very pleasant sweetness to the smoky overtones. But what I find especially enjoyable is the way that the caramel undertones meld with the pine notes. The flavors here are deep and intriguing.
A very unique Lapsang Souchong, and I have Steepster Select for bringing it to me!
Premium Keemun Hao Ya Black Tea from Teavivre
Tea Type: Black Tea
Where To Buy: Teavivre
Product Description:
Origin: Qimen, Anhui, China
Ingredients: Dark black, glossy thin buds topped with golden tips
Harvest time: Hand-picked in April, 2011
Taste: A bold but smooth, fruity taste with a lingering, mellow aftertaste
Brew: 1-2 teaspoons for 8oz of water. Brew at 194 ºF (90 ºC) for 2 to 3 minutes (exact time depends on your taste – a longer time will give the tea a stronger taste and color)
Health Benefits: Keemun black tea is fully oxidised, and so does not have the same level of antioxidants as our Green or White teas. However it still makes a great healthy tea to drink, especially if drunk with no or minimal milk and sugar, and provides a great natural source of fluoride and other vitamins.
Tasters Review:
I never know what to expect from Keemuns. I think they are a very diverse tea…with tastes, generally speaking, all across the board! But this one from Teavivre seems to be right up my alley! This is wonderful! As far as the strength of the black tea base I would have to say it’s around medium strength but it’s the other things that are happening with this black tea that make it special.
It’s slightly woodsy but a tad smokey, too, I would say a bit more smokey than woodsy but I can taste both characteristics. And it’s not a heavy smokey like a Lapsang Souchong but it’s still present! At the beginning and then again on to the aftertaste it’s velvety and creamy. The malty notes are in the middle of the sip!
This is grand! I like this a lot! I would have to say in the 90 percentile on my personal rating scale! This black tea has a lot to offer as far as your taste buds go…one to try and talk about amongst friends!
Lapsang Souchong Tea from Culinary Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where To Buy: Culinary Teas
Product Description:
A superior leaf Lapsang Souchong offering a smooth, crisp, and heady aroma of an oak wood fire. A popular and certainly unique black tea.
Taster’s Review:
I have never been fond of Lapsang Souchong. There was a time when I couldn’t even have it in my house because the smell repulsed me so. Since that time, I have come around and gained some appreciation for this tea. It will probably never become a favorite tea of mine, but, I have come to a point where I can sip on a cup every once in a while and actually enjoy it.
This is a strong Lapsang Souchong. The dry leaf is very dark, and there is a deep smokiness to the aroma. Some might liken it to a campfire scent, but, I can’t recall the fires at camp smelling like this. This smells like it’s been slowly smoked over oak.
That slow-smoked essence translates into the flavor. It has a very deep, smoky taste. I agree with the above description – it does have a certain crispness to the taste, as well as a smoothness that I didn’t expect. With such a smoky essence, I might have expected more of a rustic feel to it; however, this one is more of a sophisticated smoky taste with its smooth character.
Beneath the smoky notes, I taste subtle notes of oak and even the faintest hint of dark cocoa. It’s really quite nice. I can also detect a lovely caramel-like sweetness. The discovery of the caramel-y undertones in a Lapsang Souchong has been its saving grace for me, because I actually really like the combination of the smoke and the caramel.
This Lapsang Souchong from Culinary Teas is a top-notch Lapsang Souchong, with a beautiful complexity just below its smoky surface. I am glad that I have been able to come to gain some appreciation for Lapsang Souchong tea, otherwise I may have offered this one to someone else without giving it a taste – and I would have missed out on all this fabulous flavor.
My first cup of this tea I first tasted with no additions and decided it needed a little bit of turbinado sugar to help bring out those caramel undertones. For my second cup, I decided to try it as a latte, and it really is good. The milk subdues the smokiness and plays to the caramel sweetness – giving it a creaminess. It’s wonderful!
Wuyi Oolong from The Tao of Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: The Tao of Tea
Product Description:
Grown at a 100% Organic tea garden within Wuyishan, a scenic area stretching along Fujian’s northernmost border with Jiangxi Province. It comprises 36 graceful rock peaks and a twisting, curving river called Nine Bend Creek.
Taster’s Review:
As many of you probably are aware, I’m quite fond of Oolong tea. Well, I guess I should qualify that by saying I am fond of most Oolong teas. Occasionally, I’ll come across one that I’m not crazy about, but for the most part, I typically adore Oolong.
Wuyi Oolong has taken me a bit longer to embrace than say, a greener Oolong. The strong, smoked quality of the Wuyi was, at first, somewhat off-putting to me. I have since come around and discovered the many wonderful nuances within a Wuyi, and have learned to appreciate Wuyi Oolong.
This is an excellent Wuyi. Smoky – yes. But there is so much more to it than just “smoky” and that is what I love about it. There is a beautiful caramelized undertone that is sweet with a hint of sour. The nutty flavors of this tea are enhanced by the smoky overtones, giving it a sort of fresh-roasted nut flavor. There is a hint of fruit flavor to this – plum perhaps? While there is such a lovely contrast of flavors, the transition between the flavors is remarkably smooth. There is no bitterness to the cup, and only a slight astringency at the tail.
This is a delicious Oolong. It has a very cozy feel to it – like a warm blanket in autumn, and because of that autumnal feel I prefer this one served hot. While it is delicious iced, some of the more subtle nuances are lost with the chilling process, so to enjoy this one at its fullest, I recommend drinking it while its hot.