Lapsang Souchong Star (Organic)

For a tea with such a strong smoky aroma, one would expect an equally strong taste. The smooth flavor really surprised me, as the scent of open fire pine really fills your nostrils. It is quite a delectable aroma, if you are an outdoors person and quite enjoy the smell of an open firepit.

It is quite smooth, with a weak bitter after taste bite. It is not equally strong in taste, but it is very equally strong in enjoyability.

It may not be for everyone, and it may not be for everyday steeping. The description mentions fine cigars, which I had wished I was smoking while sipping a cup of this tea. Very sophisticated.

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A friend told me this was her favourite tea, and she was curious what I’d think of it, so I promised her I’d try it. She warned me it is a love/hate thing, so I went in forewarned.

Dry, omg I love the smell of this. Campfires and woodsmoke and I just want to sit and smell it and remember my summers spent camping with a fire every night. I was very excited to try this after smelling that!

I set this to brew on the counter and went back to my computer where I was chatting with friends. Soon I started smelling . . . beef jerky? Clearly my apartment was getting scents from another apartment down the hall, so I didn’t think anything more until my timer went.

But nope, it was the tea that smelled of jerky. I brought the cup over to the computer, and the smell started doing funny things to my stomach. Determined, took a sip, and tasted jerky. Curious, I plugged my nose and tried again, and there, finally was the taste of the tea. I enjoyed it, but two sips and my stomach was saying I couldn’t keep the cup next to me.

So sorry Lapsang Souchong Star . . . my stomach apparently doesn’t like aromatic beef jerky tea.

The first time that I smelled this type of tea was several years ago when a roommate showed me some tea she bought. I thought it smelled interesting because it was a strong sharp smell, nothing of the ordinary. I never got a taste of it, but I happened to cross its path every so often years later.

I eventually picked up this tea from a local tea shop because the bf was interested in it. The version from that store was very sharp and strong, difficult for me to take in. I thought my time with any Lapsang Souchongs were over.

Because of the tea challenge that I am doing, I decided to pick up this tea after skipping it for the past month and a half. I didn’t have any intention of liking it lol I opened the bag—smells exactly the same, smokiness (always reminds me of smoked salmon more than anything). Take a sip…think about it. Not as bad as I thought! I didn’t get the sharp taste like I did with the other tea, so I am a little relieved that I won’t be tossing this one out!

I wonder if this will become my to go tea eventually.

Now that it’s starting to get cooler, I’ve been drinking a lot of this tea. It smells like a campfire. Which brings back good memories and adds a lot of unique flavor to this tea.
Speaking of flavor, because of the strong smoky flavor, you either love it or hate it.

Edit: Looking back on this tea, it’s not one of my favourite LS.

HOLY SMOKES!

This morning I decided to drink some tea in my collection that I haven’t tried yet. I found a package of this buried deep in my tea drawer. For some reason I expected this to be boring, maybe that’s why it’s been sitting around collecting dust. This was definitely NOT a boring tea.

I read the label before tearing open the package and figured the “aroma of pine wood fire” was going to be one of those nuanced things that only people with more refined taste/smell would detect. Imagine my surprise when I tore open the package and BAM, instant campfire smell. I had no clue that lapsang souchong is actually smoked! (As a side note, the small silver zipper bags that DAVIDsTEA uses are amazing at blocking the smell. I wish I could buy these bags to store/swap tea in.)

Once steeped, the tea still has a strong smoky aroma and flavor, though not quite as overwhelming as the dry leaves. It definitely had a whiskey-like quality to the taste as well. I got a very good three steeps out of this (adding 30s to the steeping time with each resteep). It’s probably good for another steep or two, but I just can’t make myself drink that much smoky tea. I would be interested in trying other varieties of lapsang souchong to see how this compares.

The bottom line is that this tea has an excellent smoky smell and taste that is reminiscent of whiskey, but you should definitely be in the mood for it.

Dry leaves have an overpowering smoky smell, but don’t get fooled by it, steeped tea has a very complex and pleasant aroma with distinct black tea notes. This tea might not be something you’d drink every day; it’s one of those that you know absolutely positively you want to have. Other reviews of campfire in a cup are spot on, I can only add that a warm night spent outside with a cup of this will de-stress the busiest bee. If you ask me beats the hassle of camping any time. I can’t help myself but savor every sip I take, it opens up with new notes each time. Re-steeps well and it doesn’t oversteep easily first time, go bold or go home.

I’ll admit I have no other experience with LS teas, but after trying this one on a whim last year, it has been one of my more favorite teas in the cupboard. Sitting back and sipping a cup of this on a rainy day takes me off into the woods sipping tea beside a campfire (which is a very relaxing feeling for me).

One thing I’ve found that adds a nice additional taste to it. a couple months ago I hit on the idea that, since this tea was likened to scotch, I would combine it with a flavor I often blend scotch with if I’m not wanting a major hit of alcohol. I threw a couple slices of ginger into the pot with the tea. VERY nice results!

David’sTea Lapsang seems to get a bad rep, but I’m actually a fan. No rating, though, since I haven’t had a chance to try other Lapsangs. I kind of like the ash note that comes through, particularly off the dry leaf if you’ve been keeping these sealed somewhere appropriate for a little while. I know you’re not supposed to let tea age much unless it’s a pu-erh, but there’s something to be said for pulling the top off a steel canister of lapsang after keeping it closed for a week and setting off the smoke alarm.

Anyway, the body might be a little simple (or so I recall), but I can’t stress enough how much the bitter ash improves this for me. It’s different from other roasted teas I’ve had, like hojicha, in that it’s a sharper, cleaner taste. I’ve only tried it straight, since I don’t like to sweeten or dilute my tea, but maybe someone else knows more about how it behaves with additions. It’s satisfying, and the price is pretty good. (David’sTea can be a little overpriced, but this is $5.50)

This was my first time trying this type of tea, and I’ll admit I was skeptical. It seems to be a love it or hate it kind of tea, and I reallllly wanted to love it. I had planned on getting a small amount to try on my last trip to Halifax, but when I had the chance to smell it I decided to go with 50g instead of 25.

The smoky scent of this tea is strong – so strong that I was seriously worried about having a coughing fit when I actually drank the tea. It isn’t a bad smell by any means; it is comforting, like a bonfire. Actually what it reminded me of most was going through Spaceship Earth at Epcot when I was little and the smell of the scence where Rome was burning. That was my first thought even at the store and I knew that even if I didn’t like the taste of the tea, I would love to just open the bag up to feel nostalgic once in a while!

My fears of the smoke being to strong in the brewed drink were immediately dimished on the first sip. Instead I found the tea to be surprisingly smooth and extremely comforting. I was worried about oversteeping, and probably left it a few minutes longer than I should have, but it had no sign of bitterness whatsoever.

I definitely don’t think this will be an everyday tea for me, but I’ll definitely always keep some on hand for cold rainy or snowy days!

I won’t be the first one to say that isn’t the best experience I had with Lapsang Souchong. However, the taste is definitely there: smoky and wicked strong. This one definitely is more fragrant smelling than the one I’m used to, but from what I remember in terms of taste, it was hard to stomach at first. The longer this one steeps, the better it gets. Don’t know what I can recommend for steeping time, because my leaves sat at the bottom of my mug. Try 5 min. to be safe.