Thanks to Auggy who sent me the most gorgeously packaged teas ever, I am now sipping this tea. What a magnificent Lapsang! This tea exemplifies all the reasons I love the Lapsang Souchong in particular and smoky teas in general. I am not surprised by the wide range of ratings.
Certainly the aroma is absolutely indicative of a smoky tea. The aroma and the taste got me to thinking of Russian literature. I know that this is not labelled a caravan—but I thought of Boris Pasternak. One of the first literary controversies I was aware of was his Nobel Prize, gratefully accepted and then rejected, probably because of pressure from the Soviets. So I started reading his poetry and then I read his sweeping epic, “Dr. Zhivago” (the book is better than the film, which I haven’t seen for 40 something years).
This tea tastes like Yuri and Lara huddled up in a small cottage with the fire aflame. As Yuri Zhivago ventriloquizes Boris Pasternak, he reflects on winter:
“It snowed and snowed ,the whole world over,
Snow swept the world from end to end.
A candle burned on the table;
A candle burned.”
This tea reminds me of the insistent beat and flame and flare and flicker of the candle burning on the table as the fire roars in the fireplace and the Samovar boils away.
Golden Moon has at this point my vote for Best. Lapsang. Souchong. Ever. I know I’ll drink more—for me the land o’ Lapsang is largely an undiscovered and yet to be mapped country—but I’m placing an order.
I know that this review is more evocative than specific but for what do we live but to be evoked into sensations, emotions, nostalgias, memories and tea, like poetry and music, is a wonderful vehicle. This Golden Moon Lapsang Souchong (spasibo, Auggy), has taken me back to late 19th and early 20th century Russia.
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Okay I have not had a Lapsang Souchong so I’m wondering do you typically use milk and sugar? I got in my Golden Moon Sampler today and would like to try the Lapsang Souchong but need to be properly prepared. :)
I’d try it first without additives. It’s a pretty unique flavor, and worth experiencing on its own before changing it up. I think it’s a love it or hate it thing, though. I liked what I’ve tried quite a bit, but it’s pretty intense and not something I’d do every day. Basically, I smelled smoke for two days after drinking it. I think it gets in your pores. ;-)
I always try a tea without any milk or sugar for the first several sips. Then I will (sometimes) experiment mid cup with adding a splash of milk (I use whole milk for this purpose) and some brown sugar little cubelets—not full sized ones, but little crystals.
I do like to add milk and sugar to the Lapsang Souchongs. I don’t add any to green teas or white teas. The more bracing and robust the tea, the more likely I am to default to a milk and/or sugar addition.
I chickened out this morning and picked the GM Irish Breakfast instead. I’m working my way up as I don’t want to “smell smoke for two days after drinking it.” :) Thanks for your advice.
Okay I have not had a Lapsang Souchong so I’m wondering do you typically use milk and sugar? I got in my Golden Moon Sampler today and would like to try the Lapsang Souchong but need to be properly prepared. :)
I’d try it first without additives. It’s a pretty unique flavor, and worth experiencing on its own before changing it up. I think it’s a love it or hate it thing, though. I liked what I’ve tried quite a bit, but it’s pretty intense and not something I’d do every day. Basically, I smelled smoke for two days after drinking it. I think it gets in your pores. ;-)
I always try a tea without any milk or sugar for the first several sips. Then I will (sometimes) experiment mid cup with adding a splash of milk (I use whole milk for this purpose) and some brown sugar little cubelets—not full sized ones, but little crystals.
I do like to add milk and sugar to the Lapsang Souchongs. I don’t add any to green teas or white teas. The more bracing and robust the tea, the more likely I am to default to a milk and/or sugar addition.
I chickened out this morning and picked the GM Irish Breakfast instead. I’m working my way up as I don’t want to “smell smoke for two days after drinking it.” :) Thanks for your advice.