91
drank Russian Country by Harney & Sons
2816 tasting notes

I got this because I was missing my Russian tea from the Covent Tea Garden. It smells smoky in the tin but not overwhelmingly so.

There is a bit of lapsang blended in this tea. It has a slightly smoky flavor but is very slight so it reminds me of the Scottish Breakfast blend from Peet’s I like so much. This is an easy one to drink plain. I am finding it smooth and mellow with not a lot of astringency. It’s true this tea is a bit on the lighter side so I might try a 5 or 6 minute steep next time. I found it very enjoyable, nice for the morning time. I wonder what else is in here, someone mentioned keemun perhaps. It isn’t as sweet or intense as the Baker Street Blend or Hu Kwa for sure, but whatever it is, I like it…

I used to not be a fan of smoky teas at all, I guess they are growing on me a bit. I do find the lapsang blends to be less intimidating than a straight lapsang.

Update: I did try this with soymik and I don’t recommend it that way, seems a lot better plain.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec
ashmanra

I wasn’t wild about this one, but they used to have a really great one called Wuyi Shan Lapsang. Shame they don’t sell it anymore. But Baker Street can take its place!

TeaBrat

I liked Baker Street too but this is better for the morning time, IMO. :)

Scott B

Hearing long saxophone solos right now!
I bought a Russian Caravan last year at the Loose Leaf Lounge in Chicago and it tasted like it was 100% Lapsang.. Maybe “Russian” is perceived as a better term for marketing?

TeaBrat

I didn’t know what the connection was between Russian caravans and lapsang but evidently it has its’ own wiki entry – for the curious here’s the link.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Caravan

The DJBooth

Sounds great!

ScottTeaMan

Yes I like Baker St, but haven’t tried this one. Sometimes Keemuns can be a lil smokey.

ashmanra

Thanks for the link! Interesting!

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Comments

ashmanra

I wasn’t wild about this one, but they used to have a really great one called Wuyi Shan Lapsang. Shame they don’t sell it anymore. But Baker Street can take its place!

TeaBrat

I liked Baker Street too but this is better for the morning time, IMO. :)

Scott B

Hearing long saxophone solos right now!
I bought a Russian Caravan last year at the Loose Leaf Lounge in Chicago and it tasted like it was 100% Lapsang.. Maybe “Russian” is perceived as a better term for marketing?

TeaBrat

I didn’t know what the connection was between Russian caravans and lapsang but evidently it has its’ own wiki entry – for the curious here’s the link.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Caravan

The DJBooth

Sounds great!

ScottTeaMan

Yes I like Baker St, but haven’t tried this one. Sometimes Keemuns can be a lil smokey.

ashmanra

Thanks for the link! Interesting!

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Bio

My profile pic is of a pink dahlia at Golden Gate Park.

Hobbies include: tea, making art, animals, vegan things, buddhism, nature, creativity, books, writing, cooking, meditation, yoga.

I am a fan of many different teas but my favorites are blacks and oolongs, chai, also like darjeeling and pu-erh. I’n always learning and expanding my horizons!

Dislikes include: bergamot, jasmine, highly tannic or bitter teas, overly judgmental and bitter people. :)

Live in San Francisco, I’m a SINK (single income, no kids) and love the urban life, but traveling out to the middle of nowhere is always fun too.

I tend to not drink things I know I will hate so a lot of my tea ratings are on the higher side. Here’s my rating system, sorta

95-100 I love this tea and would like to keep it around

94-90 An excellent tea which I may or may not repurchase

89-80 Pretty good, above average

79-70 Acceptable

69-60 Mundane – Will probably drink it if I have it

59-50 Ick

49 and below Nasty

Location

San Frandisco

Website

http://sanfrantea.teatra.de

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