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I will forever be indebted to Ginko from Life in a Tea Cup for giving me my first sample and introduction to Lapsang Souchong.
Being new to tea, I am sure the veterans will appreciate my awe and wonder inspired by the multitude of new tea flavors with their complexities and character.
I knew a little of what to expect with this, from reading reviews and learning how the tea was made. But nothing prepared me for the experience.
The aroma was smoky of course, but immediately made my mind race to memories of campfires, fireplaces, bonfires, and other burnings. The first sip was full of smoke at first but like a whiff was gone and the flavor of black tea appeared. The aftertaste followed with a whisp of smoke that lingered…and was gone.
Sip after sip followed the same path…guiltily, I felt almost as if I was smoking…savoring each pull, holding in and releasing after each taste, hoping it would never end.
I learned something, you don’t “drink” this tea, you experience it. After the first cup, I realized the smokiness was calling me back to an earlier time, the Fall of 1999 and fighting forest fires in Northern California. Hardwoods had been the fuel of choice growing up, in the hearth at home, on campouts. Hardwood smoke has it’s own character. The Pine forest we worked on in ’99 had a scent I will never forget…and thought was lost in memory…until I tasted this tea for the first time.