Lapsang Souchong

Warning: I’m on a bit of a tea high so I might start waxing poetic. You have been warned.

I came home from a stressful day at the library to find two packages in my mailbox. One was my Teafrog samples/JOEmo traveler, and the other was this box of samples from the very generous Daniel Mann. When I popped open the Georgia Tea Company box I was hit with the wonderful aroma of teas. ::sigh:: Immediately I grabbed the Lapsang Souchong since I know that I will judge Georgia Tea Company first and foremost on their LS. They fail this one and it’s an upward battle for me to like any of their other wares. Harsh, but true.

I think that the only other LS that has come close to having this large amount of smokiness with their dry leaves is Adagio. I got excited. The cup has a wonderful aroma and stays true to its smokiness. First sip. My brain does the “Dur-hur” which is the beginning stages of a teagasm. I throw up some shields to make sure that my obvious tea high doesn’t color my judgement.

Halfway through the cup I realize that this isn’t the most complex LS that I’ve had, but there’s something different about it. It’s like this tea is aggressive in its “yeah, I’m a smoky black tea — you gotta problem with that?” The aspect that I’m missing is the sweet undercurrents that I get with good LSes. I finish my cup and the most amazing thing happens: a sweetness comes out of nowhere and just dazzles the back of my mouth. I must try the second steep immediately!

Oh yes, the second steep (added 1 minute). Shields drop and I just grovel in the yumminess. It’s still this smoky black tea, but the sweetness is dancing all over my mouth. It’s like a piney sweetness and utterly new to me with LSes. It’s not that typical LS sweet base. It’s like this tea is teasing my tastebuds with sweetness. There’s a hint of dryness at the back of my throat, but it’s not unpleasant. Oh yes, I love this tea. TG

I’d label this LS as a forest fire. And on the “kitty cat sound scale for LSes”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHZm52nvBB4
Yup, I’d pretty much say that the entire video about covers it (with an emphasis on the Cougar’s noises and the Serval’s nummy sounds).

On a somewhat unrelated note: we’re having our first or second Tornado Watch of the season and I had a flashback to childhood. I was probably 6 or 7 and the sirens were going off so I grabbed all my beloved stuffed animals and piled them under our coffeetable in the basement so that they’d be safe. Well, I’m sitting here and thinking about what I’d do if the sirens were to go off and I think that I’d grab as many of my teas and teaware as possible and put them in a safe spot.

ETA: 200th Tasting Note — woot!

Not smoky enough for me. Prefer Golden Moon.