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I went to a lovely french tea shop in Kansas City, Missouri and got to try this Lapsang Souchong. The tea house, Emilie’s French Teas, advertised this tea with the line – KC BBQ Style. If you know about Kansas City, you know how important the smoker is to the barbeque that is made her.

It was my first lapsang I have tried, but loving smokey flavor in whiskey and pork alike, I knew I would enjoy this tea.

And I wasn’t wrong, the smokey smell from the cup was sweet and delicious, the strength made me worry about the flavor, that it would feel more like liquid smoke, but instead there was a sweetness that I have come to learn is typical of lapsangs. The sweetness is extremely subtle, and did not stick around long after the swallow, just a couple of breaths.

On a cold day in Kansas City, this was a perfect warm beverage, and though I would have loved to experience the complexities of further brews, and will report when I do have a lapsang at home that I can tinker with, the two cups from the same brew that I had at Emilie’s was wonderful, particularly with the pain au chocolat that isn’t baked until the order.

On a trip to Shang’s I got to talking with the wonderful host there, Jackson, I believe, and in discussing the tea that is grown by the owner, and the wonderful complexities of lovingly crafted and well made tea, I got to try a sample of some of the teas that were brewed in house.

The Brick Aged White Stuck out to me. It was a delicious smell underlined with tobacco notes from the aging, and the taste was fanstastic, the tobacco coming through and the earthiness of the white tea felt like an autumn dream. I only had a small sample, unfortunately, so cannot speak on the complexity of multiple brews, but I now have this tea on my list as a special treat through the winter months to remind me of an autumnal walk.

The honeysuckle’s vanilla sweetness is the first thing you’ll notice, seconds into the first brew. It is an immensely pleasant aroma, and though it may seem that the strength of the smell will be a sign of overpowering sweetness on the tongue, the first sip is a velvet smooth sweetness. Don’t get me wrong, this tea is sweet, but it isn’t a dessert, the taste is light enough and complex enough (an attribute of Shang’s excellent white tea) that you will be interested in how the complexity develops in the following brews.

The taste is fleeting after the sip, not sticking to the tongue for undue time, and there is a nutty flavor underneath it all. This nutty flavor comes out more and more as the tea develops through the brew, but by the 4th brew, is not nearly as strong or complimented as the second.

Overall, it’s a wonderful tea when you want a treat of something sweet, and I would happily have 3 brews, but on four and beyond, the flavor loses some of its complexity.