So I was feeling adventurous today when I bought this, because I’ve always wondered about smoky teas. I found a smoky beer that I absolutely fell in love with at a local brewery, but they aren’t brewing it anymore, so I’d like to see if I appreciate a smoky tea as much.
I smelled it in the store, and intense wood smoke scent hit me in the face. The clerk said that lots of people use it for cooking, I was like yeah so will I if I don’t like it haha! I only got 15 g of it though, so we’ll see how it goes.
I brewed it for 4 minutes, as that seemed to be a sweet spot on Steepster for the good reviews. The steeped smell is not quite as smoky I don’t think, and there’s a stronger pine note. I am totally picturing camping amongst the spruce trees with a fire crackling and cooking smokies on the fire :) at least this is so far taking me to my favorite activity to do in the summer, camping!
So now the taste, and the verdict is…this actually is not too bad. It is definitely a more savoury tea haha. The first taste is a bold, rich flavor, then tapers off into the smoky aftertaste. The pine flavor is also present, moreso in the breathing in of the scent when you take a sip. I definitely would liken this to beef jerky, a heavily smoked beef jerky. Haha, my boyfriend had the first sip and I was like so what do you think? Is it like whiskey or smoke or beef jerky? and he said like eating a piece of charcoal haha. I can see where he gets that from, though.
Overall, I am happy I have tried this. It’s not something I will drink frequently, but it will satisfy those savoury salty tea cravings I sometimes get. I don’t think I will be running out to get anymore, but I would be open to trying other LS from different companies too, so I’m not scared off! I also might have to try adding some of this to salmon, I imagine it would be excellent. Yay for exciting tea experiences!
ETA – Yes. I have found a very tasty way to enjoy this tea. By eating cheese while drinking it! The salty cheese complements the smoke and tones it down nicely, and the illusion of eating applewood smoked cheddar is also created. Happy I found that this pairs nicely with one of my favorite foods :D
ETA again – so while this was ok when I had it, I’ve unfortunately had a lingering smoke smell/taste in my nose and mouth all night, and I’m quite tired of it now. Blarg. Removing rating as maybe I just am not a fan of this type of tea.
Preparation
People who liked this
Comments
not sure how it would fare with this one, since i haven’t tried it but man i put a little maple syrup into my smokey tea this morning and man that was delicious!
Hmmm that is definitely an idea! I hope I kind of like this one, I’ve had a sip so far and am kinda ehh..will update the note soon. Oh, and also, I totally forgot about swapping at some point for Berry Good haha, in my crazed tea buying state I got 50 g when the clerk brought it over I was like “OMG yess that oneee” lol, so we will have to swap for different ones :D
NP at all lol i know the feeling :) If you’re looking for good smokey teas that aren’t OMG IN YOUR FACE, there are a few that i’ve tried. Nice to have occasionally for a change
Awesome :D yeah I want Verdant to come out with one, maybe when they return from China they will have something interesting and smoky, I can’t wait to see the Laoshan oolong they are working on!
Stone and Alaska brewing both make pretty good smoked style beer, not sure if either are available in Canada though.
Hmm I’ll have to look into those!
I think I’ve heard that this tea is pretty harsh, as smoky teas go. They’re not all this bad!
Yeah I’ve definitely heard that, I will still try new ones, maybe that will be my next goal, find the best smoky tea lol :) this one I will have sparingly just because it has such a lasting aftertaste, other than that it was not bad, just really smoky lol
Thanks for the cheese idea!
It definitely helped tone it down a bit :) still definitely not a favorite though haha, although I do enjoy eating cheese, so that’s a plus
Grind to a powder and mix with chili and garlic for a rub or sprinkle alone over broccoli before steaming and the house will smell like bbq.
Mmm that sounds quite delicious, i will have to try those out, thanks!
I have a hard time drinking this tea too because of the lingering aftertaste, but it is a really great cooking rub with some surprising flavours. I like the broccoli idea!
not sure how it would fare with this one, since i haven’t tried it but man i put a little maple syrup into my smokey tea this morning and man that was delicious!
Hmmm that is definitely an idea! I hope I kind of like this one, I’ve had a sip so far and am kinda ehh..will update the note soon. Oh, and also, I totally forgot about swapping at some point for Berry Good haha, in my crazed tea buying state I got 50 g when the clerk brought it over I was like “OMG yess that oneee” lol, so we will have to swap for different ones :D
NP at all lol i know the feeling :) If you’re looking for good smokey teas that aren’t OMG IN YOUR FACE, there are a few that i’ve tried. Nice to have occasionally for a change
Awesome :D yeah I want Verdant to come out with one, maybe when they return from China they will have something interesting and smoky, I can’t wait to see the Laoshan oolong they are working on!
Stone and Alaska brewing both make pretty good smoked style beer, not sure if either are available in Canada though.
Hmm I’ll have to look into those!
I think I’ve heard that this tea is pretty harsh, as smoky teas go. They’re not all this bad!
Yeah I’ve definitely heard that, I will still try new ones, maybe that will be my next goal, find the best smoky tea lol :) this one I will have sparingly just because it has such a lasting aftertaste, other than that it was not bad, just really smoky lol
Thanks for the cheese idea!
It definitely helped tone it down a bit :) still definitely not a favorite though haha, although I do enjoy eating cheese, so that’s a plus
Grind to a powder and mix with chili and garlic for a rub or sprinkle alone over broccoli before steaming and the house will smell like bbq.
Mmm that sounds quite delicious, i will have to try those out, thanks!
I have a hard time drinking this tea too because of the lingering aftertaste, but it is a really great cooking rub with some surprising flavours. I like the broccoli idea!