I’m always up for trying another unsmoked lapsang, so I was excited to see this Hua Xiang Xiao Zhong in Teavivre’s catalogue. I steeped the entire 5 g sample in 120 ml of 195F water for 10, 12, 15, 18, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.
The dry aroma is of peaches, citrus, sweet potato, florals, honey, and malt. The first steep has notes of peach, orange, raspberry, other red berries, sweet potato, honey, orchid, and malt. The tea has a nice, syrupy quality but is a bit drying in the mouth. The next steep is even more peachy, with a lovely peachy aftertaste. Steeps three and four are more malty and woody, but with plenty of peach, honey, berries, orange, and sweet potato. By steeps five and six, the jammy berries are taking over the peach, and the tea has more of those lapsang notes of malt, honey, wood, minerals, and light tannins. The final few steeps have faint hints of fruit, along with malt, wood, honey, tannins, and minerals.
For the price, this is a pretty good lapsang, though I don’t think it compares to the offerings from Wuyi Origin. I’m a fan of the peach and berries, and the tea’s longevity is good. The flavours are lighter than they could be, perhaps because I was using 5 g instead of my usual 6. If you like unsmoked lapsang and are ordering from Teavivre, I’d say this would be a good tea to add to your cart.
Flavors: Berries, Citrus, Drying, Floral, Honey, Malt, Mineral, Orange, Orchid, Peach, Raspberry, Smooth, Sweet Potatoes, Syrupy, Tannin, Wood
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Well, that just broadened my horizons…I thought the smoke was what made lapsang lapsang! This sounds interesting.
Yes, lapsang can be either smoked or unsmoked. I much prefer the unsmoked variety because these teas tend to be very fruity and floral. I’d highly recommend trying one if you get the chance.
Unsmoked lapsang (Teavivre has a grand one!) is one of my favorite black teas!
Yeah, it has everything I love in a black tea and little of the stuff I don’t like (i.e., excessive malt, roast, and tannins). Which lapsang do you like from Teavivre?
https://www.teavivre.com/lapsang-souchong-wild-black-tea.html
This is the one I have had and loved!
Thanks! I think I ordered a sample of that one, though I’ll have to check. I’ve hesitated to get lapsangs from this company because the prices seem too good to be true and cheaper lapsang tends to be awful. I’d still rather have the Wild Lapsang Souchong from Wuyi Origin than the Hua Xiang Xiao Zhong from Teavivre, although to be fair, it’s a decent tea. I’m just a lapsang snob. :)
Well, that just broadened my horizons…I thought the smoke was what made lapsang lapsang! This sounds interesting.
Yes, lapsang can be either smoked or unsmoked. I much prefer the unsmoked variety because these teas tend to be very fruity and floral. I’d highly recommend trying one if you get the chance.
Unsmoked lapsang (Teavivre has a grand one!) is one of my favorite black teas!
Yeah, it has everything I love in a black tea and little of the stuff I don’t like (i.e., excessive malt, roast, and tannins). Which lapsang do you like from Teavivre?
https://www.teavivre.com/lapsang-souchong-wild-black-tea.html
This is the one I have had and loved!
Thanks! I think I ordered a sample of that one, though I’ll have to check. I’ve hesitated to get lapsangs from this company because the prices seem too good to be true and cheaper lapsang tends to be awful. I’d still rather have the Wild Lapsang Souchong from Wuyi Origin than the Hua Xiang Xiao Zhong from Teavivre, although to be fair, it’s a decent tea. I’m just a lapsang snob. :)