Victorian Afternoon Tea

yay, continuing my exploration of tea that are smoky but not too smoky…

I am finding this to be a delightful blend. I do see why people saw this is like Hu Kwa’s little sister. It has some of the same flavors as hu kwa, a slightly smoky barbeque-y type flavor but blended well with some other black teas – I think perhaps a ceylon and assam?

It’s a dark red lovely liquor to the tea. There is a lot of smoke but also a lingering sweetness in the finish. Mildly brisk but not overwhelmingly so, notes of tobacco present. This is another tea I would have to drink plain because milk or sugar would ruin it. I think between this and Russian Country from Harney I will have enough lapsang blends to last me for a while.

I did also do a second steep using the same leaves for only around 1 minute, the smokiness is mostly gone but it still has a light, sweet flavor kind of like a darker oolong. NICE!

This is really nice for an afternoon pickup! And yes, I really need to stop buying tea for a while. ;-)

This one is like Hu-Kwa’s younger, prettier sister! It’s a great pick-me-up and oh-so-slightly smoky flavor. If you are scared of smoky teas try this one! She’s the girl-next-door!

This tea is excellent with milk as well as plain, I’ve discovered today. I keep expecting this tea to be more smokey-tasting than it is because the scent is full-on BBQ à la lapsang souchong. Luckily the other teas in this blend seem to dampen it down a little.

Tea of the afternoon…….

And my first tea out of my Foodzie Box from LiberTEAS. OMG! What a wonderful box of samples! Really, this is a fabulous deal if you are new to tea, or have been around the tea table a few times. I received well over 20 samples, and only one out of the bunch is one I have tried (and I have tried a bunch of teas, and that particular one is an absolute favorite!) I highly recommend this for a fun tea adventure. I cannot wait to try them all.

This is the first tea I have selected. I purchased a gift for a friend from Mark T. Wendell last year. The service was great, and the friend loved the tea. I have not gotten around to ordering there myself, so I requested that LiberTEAs add some Mark T. Wendell if she had some. Here it is.

This is really good. It is a lightly smokey tea. Very well blended and rich. It kind of reminds me of Upton’s Lapsang Souchong Black Dragon. Both are perfect for beginning smokey teas. If I ever do order from Mark T. Wendell, I will probably get this one. TeaEqualsBliss called this Hu Kwa’s pretty little sister and suggested that it was lighter than Hu Kwa. I will probably have to check that out for myself at some point! Very good! Thank you for including it in my LiberTEAs Foodzie Box!

Usual mug method for 3 minutes.

Wrote a more eloquent review for future posting to www.itsallabouttheleaf.com. Okay, maybe not eloquent, but at least more wordy and full of adjectives and verbs and things and even a lame attempt at quoting Shakespeare. But at any rate, here’s the first sip:

My first experience with lapsang souchong was pretty disastrous—-reminiscent of sucking pork rinds—-so when I first opened this tea packet and the first whiff that hit my nose was souchong-like “smoke,” I was very apprehensive.

But, intrepid tea taster that I am, I persevered and was pleasantly surprised. The big, black loose leaves brew up a luscious, clear red-gold color. At three minutes with boiling water (again, I erred on the side of caution thinking this was going to be really strong) the smoke taste does lead the caravan, but the other teas in the blend add a little sweetness and balance.

Thanks to TeaEqualsBliss for sending me this one (yes, I got the huge box! Thanks SororiTEA Sister)

This one… scares me. It’s smoky. I gave it a quick rinse before steeping (which I have found helps me enjoy smoky teas more). The aroma of the liquor still smells smoky but not too smoky.

This is not too bad… and I say it like that, because I was expecting it to be much worse than it actually is, but I can drink this. I’m not gagging, I’m not repulsed after taking a sip… it’s actually good. There… I said it. It’s good.

The smoky flavor is there, it’s strong, but it is not overwhelming. The smoky taste has a nice caramel-y back note that I find intriguing.

This one has been on my shelf for a while forgotten for the moment. I usually drink black tea with a little sugar and no milk or cream. I tried another tea in the morning with half and half so I decided in the afternoon to give this a try with half and half. I found that I like it a lot better that way. It reminds me of a Russian Caravan type tea. It has that Lapsang Soochong slight smoky flavor. It is very smooth and with cream and sugar it was very enjoyable.

Mmm, this is quite tasty! Very smooth, with a slight bit of smokiness and a little sweetness, too. Definitely a nice afternoon pick-me-up! Sort of reminds me of a softer version of Cara M’s Sherlock fandom blend (Sherlock being a little spicier and less sweet). I shall have to do a side by side tasting of them at some point.

I’ve had this tea for several years, but never wrote a note on it. This tea is full bodied with a nice, light smoke. Truely something I enjoy for “Afternoon Tea”. Brews quickly and can be overdone. Cheese and Crackers with VA, mmmmm.

Very strong— good for an afternoon boost.