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“The ratings on this are all over the place. I rather liked it. I actually got three steeps out of the bag. The first made me think bacon. The second was pulled pork. The third was lighter but still...” Read full tasting note
“Twinings sample bag. First LS I have ever had in a bag. I was surprised. It is not terrible. Not a very strong LS though. But,I would actually purchase some of this to have on hand for a quick tea...” Read full tasting note
“I usually LOVE me some Lapsang Souchong. But this one is just pure gross. I won’t mention what it reminds me of… I don’t want to ruin anyone’s tea appetite. I think I might not even finish this...” Read full tasting note
“There are days when you need comfort food….well like comfort food sometimes you need comfort tea. In my opinion there are none better than Lapsang Souchong. Ahhh!! Happiness.” Read full tasting note
Lapsang Souchong, also referred to as smoked tea, is one of the worlds’ oldest and most distinctive black teas. The tea is grown in the Wuyi Mountains in the Fujian Province of China and is made by only a select number of estates. Once a very secretive process, Lapsang Souchong is prepared using the same manual techniques today that have been passed down from generation to generation. After the tea is plucked, the leaves are withered over cypress or pine wood fires. They are later placed into barrels so that the smoky aroma intensifies. As a final step, the leaves are placed into flat wicker baskets and positioned on bamboo trays over smoky pine fires, where they dry and absorb even more aroma. The finished tea leaves are thick and black and when steeped in hot water, produce a rich tea with a unique, smoky taste.
To savour the full flavour of our teas, bring water to boil, and pour over the tea as soon as it reaches boiling. Over-boiling will cause oxygen to be reduced, making the tea taste “flat”. Brew 3 minutes or to desired taste.
*We do not recommend using a microwave to boil your cup of water.
Ingredients: Fine black tea expertly selected from the Fujian province, China
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I like a Lapsang from time to time, but this is not ‘that time’. However, I’m unconcerned as I know ‘that time’ will come around again.
In the interim, I notice my male guests are suddenly partial to the rich, smokey notes of this dark, mysterious tea. And that’s fair enough because it smacks of a nicely rounded machismo that I find tremendously appealing.
This is an all round winner and a staple in my house when I have COMPANY.
I am not sure whether I like this tea or not. I have never had a smoky tea before – it tastes like liquid smoke added to boiling water. The aroma is stronger than the taste, and I put the teabag back in to steep more after a taste. A little milk is fine, but sugar changes the taste and makes it more ordinary. It might be good with smoked meats or barbecue.
Lapsang Souchong has been my favourite tea for many years. There is simply no comparison between the loose tea and tea bags in Twinings Lapsang Souchong – the tea bags still have the smokey aroma, but the loose tea has the same distinctive aroma as well as a richer and more robust flavour.
When my little brother was younger, he used to refer to my Lapsang Souchong as “bushfire tea” because of the smoky aroma. I often drink this tea alone, as my wife doesn’t like it – in fact, she won’t even let me brew it in her teapot! I always look forward to sharing a cup with my best mate whenever he visits (thanks Geoff!).
Nowadays it’s almost impossible to find Twinings Lapsang Souchong loose tea on supermarket shelves around here (regional Victoria, Australia), so I’m usually stuck with the tea bags. Occasionally I treat myself to the loose Lapsang Souchong from Lupicia.
As with all other teas, I drink mine black with no sugar.
So today was quite an adventurous day for me and my husband. Among the adventures, we went to a British Marketplace in South Florida and I bought several new teas to add to my cupboard. I looked like quite the rugged American laying on the floor sniffing tea boxes on the bottom shelves in their store. Oddly enough, I couldn’t smell this one through the wrapper. I’m quite certain that was for good reason.
I had seen this one on the Twinings website and was going to order it if I didn’t see it at their shop. I was intrigued by the use of “smokey” to describe a tea. Now I understand. I understand completely.
It smells like burning wood. It was the first tea that I was unsure about even steeping once I caught a whiff of it. It doesn’t taste as strong as it smells and is actually enjoyable after a few sips. But this is a tea I’ve come across yet that I could personally compare it with. I ended up removing the bags and tossing the box and putting the bags in a big ziplock bag because after about ten minutes it was starting to drift throughout the cabinet like a plague.
Oh, and apparently Oprah mentioned this tea on her show and it was flying of the shelves at the British Marketplace according to the owner.
“remember that old Saturday Night Live skit about Pork Soda … well, what was said there applies here … “it’s like drinkin a pig” A good tea if you can’t decide whether you want a cup of tea or a slightly overdone boar on a spit."
That was my old review. Now, I’ve completely come around on this tea. I drink it after a hard day or if I’m not feeling all that great and the smoky flavour puts me beside a campfire in the outback of my youth. True, it does take a little bit of mental gymnastics at first i.e. ’it’s not bacon, it’s bamboo, it’s not bacon, it’s bamboo’ … but once you’ve done it, this tea really pays off. My new favourite.
Oh, I don’t know what to say. I got this tea because a while back, when I first heard of lapsang souchong, I thought it seemed like an interesting idea. Today, I saw the mini 10 packs of this for sale at the supermarket, so I thought I’d give it a try. I had it with sweetener and soy milk.
The aftertaste of this, especially at the end of the cup, reminded me of when I was young and stupid and used to smoke sometimes. That’s not a good thing to be reminded of, because as a firm non-smoker these days, an ashy taste in the mouth is pretty repellant. Otherwise, this tea smelled a bit like bacon before brewing, which was also not promising to me. But I do love the smell of burning wood, and mixed with the creaminess of the soy milk, it was kind of cool. I think this tea could be better mixed with something vanilla-y, like a black tea with vanilla, or some vanilla bean. The smoke element is very strong here. Maybe it wasn’t a good choice as a first lapsang souchong, but I got it mainly because I didn’t want to spend heaps of money on a fancier one when the smoke could be a deal breaker from the get-go.
I’m going to drink this at least one more time, for a better review and to really get my thoughts about the combination of tea and smoke together, but it’s really weird. If you don’t eat meat, it might make a good thing for cooking, because it’s strongly flavoured, and the smokiness is reminiscent of smoked meats and wood smoke, which is always good in savoury stuff.
