Okay I admit I didn’t actually know that this was smoked tea when I purchased it, I wouldn’t have done so if i had known. I mean I should’ve known but anyway, it’s fine I actually really enjoyed this.
The dry leaf smells like .. (drumroll please) pine smoke. maybe with a slight.. vanilla

After the rinse I get an aroma that’s more complex, pine smoke that’s sort of beneath more savoury notes, sort of a salty dark chocolate, and cinnamon, and almonds, there’s notions of greens and florals behind it all but nothing that’s identifiable

Most of the smokiness is contained in the aroma, the taste is much more of a salty milk chocolate, cherries, a sort of dusty feeling, there’s a distinct creaminess, but the moment I breathe out after the sip, everything is replaced with a sweet pine smokey aroma, it’s so thick, and it actually tastes milky.
The second steep yields a much more diluted aroma, far less smoke and I get a varied aroma, quite similar to the taste of the first steep, and the taste has more vanilla, and some earthiness and honey-sweetness. It really tastes and feels like warm milk.. I’ve never experienced tea with such a true milkiness.
Also, the tea brews up a beautiful vibrant orange-yellow, pics:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BL_stSsD2QF/?taken-by=mackie_tealife&hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/p/BL_uMFmDLTY/?taken-by=mackie_tealife&hl=en

More chocolate in the third, the strong smokiness mostly (never completely) goes away pretty quickly and then it’s like drinking some weak hot chocolate with some really lovely pine wood and smoke. Not too complex anymore but it is gooooooood. seriously I have never enjoyed a smoke lapsang souchong before but man, Li Xiangxi knows what’s up.
Oh I forgot to mention, the dryness it leaves is specifically on the tongue which is the exact same thing warm milk does to me, which is a large part of the reason for the warm milk effect. I had this in the morning last time, and that was a mistake, this is definitely a late night sort of tea.
I guess I have to try .. all of Li Xiangxi’s teas now. These people have me thoroughly enjoying a smoked black tea, who knows what else is possible!

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C

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Hey :) welcome to my steeps!
I really only ever drink straight teas, every once and a while I might have something flavoured, but odds are I won’t ever write about any of those. All of my reviews are done using my 120ml gaiwan unless otherwise specified.

I’m mostly into Sheng, Red tea and Oolongs right now, but I also can enjoy greens and whites sometimes.

My cupboard is NOT up to date. I tried for a while, but it’s too much effort, and so many of the teas I have just aren’t on here and eh.

ig: @mackie_tealife —>
https://www.instagram.com/mackie_tealife/?hl=en

Rating System:

95-100:
|| One of the best teas I’ve ever
|| had; I’m definitely planning to
|| restock
90-94:
|| Very very good tea, I’ll restock if
|| I’m planning to make a purchase
|| from this company anyways, if
|| not I’m alright living without it
80-89:
|| Very good tea, I’d be more than
|| happy to sip again, though it’s
|| not likely I’ll be repurchasing
70-79:
|| Good tea, I drank it happily,
|| though I might not be reaching
|| for it again in my cupboard
|| for a long while
60-69:
|| Okay tea, it was drinkable and
|| it’s probably going to be
|| gathering dust in my cupboard
|| for a while
50-59:
|| I struggled through the tea,
|| but managed to finish the
|| session, will probably be giving
|| it away to a friend.
25-49:
|| I cut the session short, but
|| I think it’s possible for one to
|| have enjoyed it, it’s just really
|| low quality
0-24:
|| No one should enjoy drinking
|| this, and I would have no
|| problem throwing it out.

*This system is used on my first 100 reviews, I’ve decided not to rate teas anymore because I’m definitely not qualified to be objective about quality yet and it’s just pointlessly subjective numbers and that’s not really helping anyone

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