Lapsang Souchong

Tea type
Black Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Caramel, Cherry, Chocolate, Malt, Astringent, Dark Chocolate, Mineral, Smoke, Smooth, Berry, Fruity, Earth, Dark Bittersweet, Bread
Sold in
Not available
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Joseph Wesley Black Tea
Average preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 15 sec 8 g 12 oz / 367 ml

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34 Tasting Notes View all

  • “Thank you for the free sample Joseph Wesley! This is lovely, truly!! I am usually on the fence with Chinese black teas, but this, well this is delicious. Definitely getting a cigar association as...” Read full tasting note
    92
  • “Joseph Wesley’s Lapsang Souchon blows heavy smoke in your face upon first whiff of the dry leaves. Not quite as heavy as if you’re standing next to Grandpa Joe and his massive Cuban cigar; this is...” Read full tasting note
    92
  • “Sipdown! every pot I made at work was deliciously complex and satisfying. While i’m supremely bummed to say goodbye to this tea, i know that i can find some good quality non-smoked LS elsewhere. In...” Read full tasting note
    83
  • “Tea Advent Calendar – Day 18 I’ve recently discovered that I like smokey black tea and I’ve never tried anything from Joseph Wesley, so I was excited to see this one in today’s Advent calendar...” Read full tasting note
    85

From Joseph Wesley Black Tea

Joseph Wesley’s Black Tea No. 7 is a malty, robust full-bodied tea that is as sensual in its appearance as it is in its taste and aroma. A uniquely crafted iteration of the famous Chinese black tea Lapsang Souchong, this tea beautifully balances its smoky undertones with its rich malty plum and chocolate overtones. Grown and processed in a mature tea garden outside the famous Fuding City, in China’s Fujian Province, this tea’s large dark leaves provide both a mesmerizing texture as well as a lush and rich amber liquor. Joseph Wesley’s Black Tea No. 7’s bold flavors, aromas and textures make for a perfect pairing with your favorite sharp cheeses.

About Joseph Wesley Black Tea View company

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34 Tasting Notes

95
1271 tasting notes

SOOO GOOOOD! Black tea lovers of Steepster, you gotta check this tea seller out!

This Lapsang isn’t over the top smokey, in fact it is just a background of burnt caramel. The flavor is malty, rich, heavy, plum, raisin, barley, caramel, bread, tart and lightly dry. This tea also goes insanely well with a white cheese, omg! This LS is super friendly yet complex for a seasoned tea drinker. Love it!

Full review on my blog, The Oolong Owl http://oolongowl.com/lapsang-souchong-joseph-wesley-black-tea-tea-review/

Admittedly, I was supposed to blog about the tea pet as the tea was a bonus. The tea was so good, I ended up writing about that. Now I’m trying to restrain myself from blowing $50 at Joseph Wesley.

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 2 min, 30 sec
boychik

I love Joseph Wesley’s LS. And any other tea from #3 – #7. #1 and 2 I haven’t tried.

LiberTEAS

I haven’t tried their Lapsang Souchong, but I have loved the other teas from them that I’ve tried. An outstanding tea seller!

Joseph Wesley Black Tea

Thank you for the nice review. I’m really happy to read you like the tea. Cheers, Joe

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88
518 tasting notes

I went down the the HLDYMRKT in Hamtramck today with the express purpose of meeting Joe. He and I talked for quite a while. I was quite taken by his teas, and purchased this one without hesitation.

It’s really nice. Smooth, malty. I don’t get that undercurrent of smoke, but then my palate isn’t as developed as many others here. Almost sweet, but not like sweet potato or anything. It’s just nice.

The color is beautiful. The tea is aromatic. I’m really glad I decided to get this one.

http://instagram.com/p/wCckk3gyYS/
http://instagram.com/p/wCcmtogyYe/
http://instagram.com/p/wCd8RkAyT_/
http://instagram.com/p/wCeMP0AyWJ/

boychik

Super jealous ! Did I mention I ordered his limited edition Da Hong Pao and Qi Lan ?

Sil

lucky! both of you! canada shippping just gives me too much of a headache :(

Cheri

Canada Post is just wayyyyy too expensive. It makes me sad.

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83
353 tasting notes

Philadelphia Coffee & Tea Festival #7

I had wandered the main hall and was ready to shell out some money when I realized there was a whole other back room with vendors! Joseph Wesley was the first who caught my eye. He had a series of tins of just straight black tea of varying varieties, and he offered me a sample of the Lapsang Souchong.

Which was very very different than any other Lapsang I’ve had. It wasn’t smoked.
Which honestly threw me because I love the smokey flavor of Lapsang. But this was quite nice.

Honestly, most plain black teas are wasted on me. I don’t appreciate the subtlety in a way I do with white or oolongs. But I feel I need to up my tea game, so to speak, and learn some more, and did end up buying a tin of this.

Overall, I did enjoy it. It was dark, still had a slight smokey taste, with sour notes toward the end. I appreciated that this vendor was different than most of the others in that he did not offer blends, and that he was the only vendor who had plain black teas.

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437 tasting notes

At one point last year I had a tea moment with this sample from an aliexpress dealer. The tea tasted like a chocolate caramel oolong and was incredibly smooth. Since then I’ve been on a search for that tea or a tea like it. It can be difficult because tea packaging is sometimes used regionally and may not be specific to a brand. Anyways after my last attempt boychik offered to send me some of this tea as part of my quest to find that tea, and you know, it comes quite close. This one is more malty, not quite as smooth and has much stronger caramel notes, but it is really good. It makes a nice dessert tea.

I steeped 1 TSP in 200ml and used a water temperature of around 92°C and did 4 steeps of this tea (60,90,120,210s).

This teas warm honey broth had a scent of light longan cocoa, butter caramel, and something slightly nutty.

The first sip was quite sweet with caramel coming to the forefront, with ccocoa, yam, and nutty tones with a hint of molasses. As it cools the longan becomes apparent between the butter caramel and other tones. The tea is buttery but slightly more astringent than my fantasy lapsang but really good and very close to the one I am looking for. This one has more caramel and longan and less cocoa, but it is a really nice flavour. As it cools the malt becomes apparent under the other flavours and the tea taste slightly less sweet. The aftertaste of hot chocolate with a little bit of longan.

In future steeps a malt tone became apparent and the caramel became more of a butter note with a mild sweetness. Longan was more apparent in the second steep and then faded. Whereas cocoa remain relatively constant.

Altogether a very good tea which I would consider buying once I get through some of my existing Lapsang Souchong collection. Thanks boychik It really is close!

boychik

yay, happy you like it;)

Sil

this one is quite delicious!

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88
15019 tasting notes

i feel like i had a different tea than everyone else lol This one came my way from boychik and i had it yesterday (finishing my catch up). To me? this was barely smokey…instead what i was getting was a deliciously smooth tea with just a hint of something that might be smokey. Even after a couple resteeps it was just a pleasant cup of tea lol

Joseph Wesley Black Tea

That sounds like the correct tea. Our #7 Lapsang Souchung is a much higher grade Lapsang Souchung than any we’ve seen in the North American market. The art of its constructio and what makes us so excited about it is that it has a perfect balance between the natural sweetness of the leaves (picked from wild tea trees) and the gentle smokey notes from the final heating with wood – not wet needles. It’s definetly not a heavy handed tea. Happy to read that you enjoyed it.

Sil

i loved it :)

boychik

im happy you loved it.

Angrboda

Yes, I agree! I found it very mild as well.

Sil

Yay I’m not the only one hahaha

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89
1353 tasting notes

Queued post, written May 4th 2014

The last of my JW teas to try! The safe bet too. I’ve already mentioned how LS is so well known to me at this point that I don’t need to sample before buying. If I need a fresh supply of LS, I get one wherever I’m shopping. Sometimes I get one close to my preferred balance of body and smoke and sometimes I don’t, but they’re all Close Enough.

And every once in a while you run into one that hasn’t actually been smoked. It’s the same tea, it’s still an LS. It just hasn’t gone through a smoking process. I’ve had very good experiences with that variety too although it is a somewhat rare beast. I mention this now because sniffing at this cup, I’m not actually finding much smoke at all. It’s grainy and sweet with perhaps a little bit of smoke at the periphery, but that’s it. There’s a thick and sticky sort of note to it as well that makes me think of caramel. That note is quite strong.

At this point I read the label on the tin. It doesn’t actually say anything about smoke anywhere at all on the label. At all! Could this be an unsmoked LS, I wonder? I does actually say caramel, though. HA! I totally called that.

Further reading on the website mentions smoky undertones. UNDERtones! That implies a naturally occuring note of smoke, doesn’t it, rather than something added to it. It’s a Fujian black, so a natural smoke note would not at all be unusual.

The smoke note is relatively strong on the flavour, but again not at all as strong as it would be if it had been smoked. At least not if it had been smoked to the degree of the LS I’m used to drinking. I suppose it coud have been smoked very lightly to enhance the natural note. I’m a little in doubt now about whether or not I think it’s gone through a smoking process. Interestingly, I was reading what other people wrote about it and a couple of people felt this one had heavy smoke notes. What have they been drinking? I’m finding it quite mild! Or am I simply too familiar with LS at this point that I can no longer view it objectively? (Not that tea tasting could ever be objective, but I think you know what I mean. I can’t find a better way to express it.)

It’s still quite grainy and sweet, just like it smells. The caramel note is not as strong in the flavour as it is in the aroma, though. I believe it’s the smoke note that tempers it somewhat. It’s a very dark sort of caramel, not a milky one. Caramel sweet as opposed to fruity sweet. That’s a new one. I’ve usually found LS quite fruity-sweet.

The more it cools, though, the stronger the smoky note gets. I take it back, this is definitely not unsmoked. It’s just… trying to pass itself off that way.

Smooth and strong. A good way to start the day.

Skulleigh

I happened across a LS review yesterday with a comment on it that unsmoked LS is becoming more common because of import restrictions/pine smoke bad or something, but I don’t remember what I was looking at in order to refind it, and google is failing me. I remember thinking “baroo?” at the comment, as it didn’t mention where they were that such restrictions were happening. Oddness.

Angrboda

What about your browser history?

I seem to vaguely recall having heard such a thing before, but if smoked foods in general are bad, well… In Denmark we smoke all sorts of things. Fish, sausages, meat, even a certain cheese. We’d be in trouble if restrictions were introduced! O.o

Skulleigh

Yeah, in the US we like smoked salmon, ham, sausage, and cheese too. It doesn’t seem like a restriction that would actually be implemented successfully!

Skulleigh

Oh, re: browser history – I was on like 5 different devices/machines yesterday. I are technogeek. I have no idea which device I was on :D

Angrboda

I can see that would be a bit difficult to check then. I don’t even have that many devices. :)

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72
43 tasting notes

Took a whiff of this at the NYC Coffee and Tea festival this past March and had to bring some home with me.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 2 min, 30 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

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90
155 tasting notes

I’m not generally a lapsang souchong fan. At all. Says so right there on my profile. But this one. The usual Joseph Wesley excellence.

First sip was a revelation. A lapsang exists that I like!! This does not taste like I just licked an ashtray. It is full and complex with my favorite malty note at the front. There is cocoa midsip with a deep fruit, plums? toward the back. All the way back is the roasty barley bit that I love, all with an underlying but subtle tobacco bite that makes this really interesting.
More on my blog: http://mizzprissy.wordpress.com/2014/05/25/lapsang-souchong-joseph-wesley-black-tea/

And here is its song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeyL1yVY_6Q&feature=kp

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 4 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
TeaKlutz

Ooo, that sounds wonderful! Lapsangs are an interesting lot: they’re SO good when done artfully, but so easy to get wrong!

MzPriss

I don’t generally like them. This one is great.

ohfancythat

I like that you include songs :)

MzPriss

Tea almost always makes me hear a song. Not every single time, but most of the time. Some people taste colors. I taste music. I’m glad you like it :)

Joseph Wesley Black Tea

The Blackbyrds? Very cool! I’m sitting with a buddy in Detroit who loves that song and now can be found with a very large smile after listening to your musical selection. However, he calls your Walking in Rhythm, and raises you a: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5J54RVZjYs (appropriate on this Memorial Day, no?)

MzPriss

HA! Awesome :) Don’t get me started….but here’s some Curtis Mayfielfd just because: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVANQheoRUw

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94
493 tasting notes

Today is my official 1st day of sampling Lapsang Souchong. i picked it up at 2013 NYC Coffee and Tea Festival. Joseph Wesley stand was my first stop. I did my little homework and was dying to try their teas. I was always afraid to drink LS because people described it as ashy smoky bitter. Whatever.
Steeped according to directions: 1tsp 8oz 195F 2min2 1/2min etc
This tea completely changed my uneducated and inexperienced mind. Its smooth, sweet with touch of smokiness at the end but its well rounded. it has this rye bread taste,sweet and toasty. i got myself a piece of cheddar since its written it pairs well with cheese. it does, but i can drink it without it. I know what would be great : toasted bagel cream cheese. I’m sure some maple syrup would make it complete. I’m going to try it next time.

Flavors: Bread

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 2 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
ifjuly

oh, a toasted bagel with cream cheese and a good LS sounds DIVINE. yum. glad your first LS is such a good experience!

boychik

Thank you, ifjuly;)

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72
309 tasting notes

Bought at the Coffee & Tea Festival here and it is lovely.

I am not usually one for lapsang souchongs as the smokiness is usually too intense.

This one, you can taste a little hint of smoke, but also sweetness… a fruity sort of feel but I can’t place the fruit in mind.

Mid-tongue is a medium to almost black brown color flavor, a harsh orange at the back of the throat, and wrapping around the front sides of the tongue is a light yellow-medium-beige color if that is clear at all… I can see it but can’t quite describe it, hope someone else gets that last color.

Oddly, this is the first thing I’ve ever tasted that actually has a purple taste. It’s around the top of the mouth and top back of throat. It’s a reddish purple, not too dark but dark. A rich color.

I quite like this. It’s a gentle tea. I’m having it as my morning tea today and the flavor is bold enough as a black to hit that need while also not having that overwhelming level of smoke that I mentioned above. Mildly astringent with no bitterness, for me.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 2 min, 30 sec 11 g 41 OZ / 1200 ML
Joseph Wesley Black Tea

Thanks for visiting us at the Coffee and Tea Festival. I’m happy to read that you enjoyed the tea. Cheers, Joe

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