This review is for the 2nd and 3rd steeping of a blend of this Lapsang Souchong black tea and Red Blossom’s Organic Shou Mei white tea.
Yesterdays 2nd steeping was wonderful, even better than the first. The 1st steeping, in my opinion, had too much Lapsang taste, too much campfire smoke. I wanted more balance. The 2nd steeping took care of that. The campfire smoke was much more subdued, and the white tea background was able to pop through.
Now on to today’s 3rd steeping. I upped the steep time to 1:15 from 1:00, everything else is the same. Just under 3 tablespoons of Shou Mei white with 1 teaspoon of Lapsang Souchong black.
The color is still golden straw, just a tad darker, closer to a green tea color. Almost looks like a filtered hefeweizen, for those beer fans out there.
The aroma also reminds me of the fruity, almost banana-y beer. The 1st steeping aroma was all campfire, but now the balance is much better, the white tea is actually more in front, and the thick, malty smoke of the Lapsang is secondary. Still has that same dry, clean finish.
Taste and mouthfeel are exactly the same as yesterday’s 2nd steeping, it hasn’t lost any of it’s power, strength, or balance. I still have a strong sense of malty campfire smoke from the Lapsang, but the Shou Mei is much more present. It has an almost bitter, dry aftertaste, but still crisp and clean. 3rd steeping and it’s still kicking nice and strong.
The next time I do this blend, I might try rinsing them separately, and giving the Lapsang some extra time to possibly clean off some of that extra campfire.
