Lapsang Souchong Imperial (ZS80)

This smells like campfire in the bag as expected, but it’s also kind of earthy..with something almost sweet going on too, like cinnamon rolls maybe?
After waiting forever for it to cool down, this tastes good. It is definitely smokey, but not offensively. It also tastes a bit piney and woody. That earthy smell I mentioned comes through on taste as well. As with this company’s current baker street blend, this would be perfect tea for a cold winter night. I can’t make up my mind if I prefer this with or without sugar.

My first Lapsang Souchong. Dried leaves smell like a campfire and jerky. Brewed leaves like incense and pine. Liquor smells like an old historic cabin and a hint of bacon. Taste hits the tongue smooth and mellow for a second then there’s the bite.  Definitely peaty, like a good tarry scotch and there is a hint of sage (smudge more than culinary).  I had the Baker Street blend last night and didn’t taste a single hint of this.  May have to add a teaspoon of this to it.  As much as I want to try multiple steepings of this and compare to the black dragon, I am getting a major headache from the smoke, my body betrays me.  May end up pairing with a buttery or roasty oolong for everyday drinking. (posting this the day after I sampled and took these notes, just want to add that I fell in love with LS Black Dragon today and my notes can be found on its page).

One of my daily-drivers. I probably drink it once a week. If you’ve never tried the smokey campfire goodness that is Lapsang, you really owe yourself to try a few cups. An acquired taste definitely worth the effort.

L is for… Lapsang Souchong Imperial.

Another gift from Michelle. I asked Michelle if she could send a bit of this one since I’ve had it on my wishlist to try, no doubt due to a fantastic note I read here on Steepster some time ago. I really enjoy smoked Lapsang Souchong, ever since I tried my very first one. I think it was a bagged Twinings. It tasted like bacon and I loved it.

This one smells very smoky right out of the bag – definitely campfire smoke. After steeping, I get more dirt/earth scent coming from the steeper. The flavor is lighter than I expected, but I followed the online instructions and used less leaf than I would have normally. Next time, I’ll try steeping with more. There is plenty left for me to play around with. Thanks, Michelle!

My dad bought all the Upton Import Lapsang Souchongs he could find and settled on this as his favorite. I thought I’d give it a taste on this Christmas morning. It is smooooooth. I don’t think I’ve drunk a LS this smooth before. Before I knew it, my mug was half empty and I was refilling. The smokyness is subtle but definite, it tastes like enhanced black tea instead of tea that is hiding something.
I am now thinking I need to taste test all the Yunnans or Assams and find my favorite. What would the world do without the scientific method (my dad was a chemist for 40 years) and spread sheets to rate tea. And yet somehow I have survived without a spreadsheet up until now…

November Sipdown Challenge Prompt – a smoky tea

Sample sipdown This came from Michelle, so many thanks to you!

I was surprised to see that I have had this one before. In addition to having some Lapsangs in swaps, I ordered a lot of samples from Upton many years ago when I was purchasing Black Dragon and Baker Street.

This was really nice today. Ashman doesn’t like Lapsang or even tea with natural smoky notes so I had this all to myself.

This is very smoky – he would have called it camp fire instead of smoked meat. The nice thing about this one is the base. It has a little more heft behind the smoke. Black Dragon was good, but over time I began to feel that the base was too thin on that one for me.

Thank you, Michelle!

I had never tried Lapsang Souchong before I tried this tea. At first the smoky aroma was rather off-putting, but now I find that the smokiness is this tea’s best quality. Lapsang Souchong has quickly become my favorite tea. It tastes like the way a campfire in the middle of the woods feels. I sometimes take it with a bit of sugar, but even without it this tea is perfect. I plan on ordering more of this tea soon. Very strong, but oh so very good.

Oh, and prepare for EVERYTHING that comes in contact with this tea to smell like it.

~300ml xishi zini yixing
~20g
Boiling

Dry Leaves: Grey brown scattered with the burnt sienna of the open end of a broken stick. Appears be a handful of miniature twigs.

Wet Leaves: Auburn & green stained brown. Chopped leaves and stems. Ode to a Nightingale.

Liquor: Rich auburn

Mouthfeel is smoother than creamy. Too bad it finishes with a sour tightening of the salivary glands.

Under the lids smells of roasted marshmallows. Elsewhere, it’s all campfire. Warms the entire belly.

I keep coming back to this tea because it takes me on those walks through low mountains that turn enjoyably into speed setting records due to rain.

From dry leaf to final sip, this tea evokes all the best of autumn campfires. The dry leaves have a strong and wonderful aroma of wood smoke. This odor passes directly through to the cup with very little modification. The smoke odor and flavor are strong but never acrid. I did find this infusion to be a bit watery and plan to extend the steeping time to 4:15 for my next tasting. A hint of sweetness is left on the palate for a pleasant finish. I will certainly purchase more of this tea when the sample packet I ordered has been depleted.

Very strong smokey flavor and aroma, my first experience with brewing lapsang on its own, I think this would work well in a blend, but not alone. Like drinking a camp fire.