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Thank you so much Teasenz for sending some samples. I really appreciate it, though it has taken me a while to get to them. I wanted to these teas justice and take time with them. The only other Teasenz tea I’ve had was the Ginseng oolong and it was the brainiest of all Ginseng oolongs, therefore the best one I’ve tried. Teasenz looks like they have a nice assortment of different teas. The leaves here are dark and twisty and do not smell smoky at all. In fact, I’m a little confused by the labeling of this tea as it tastes like…. Laoshan Black! Not quite exactly the same, as Laoshan Black has a slightly twistier leaf and also more oily black, but I think this sort of flavor is rare. If you are not a fan of the usually smoky Lapsang Souchong, please do not hesitate to try this one, as the flavor is not smoky at all. I think everyone would enjoy this tea. The flavor is a lighter chocolate with hints of caramel, though I could have used two teaspoons to see if that works better. This type of flavor is always difficult for me to describe, but it is along the lines of Laoshan Black.. the flavor isn’t very strong, with a lighter brew, but this isn’t a tiny leaf tea. I’ve recently thought that maybe since most tea drinkers start out with black teas as CTC leaves in tea bags (whether or not you start out loving tea bags or not), the classier longer-leafed teas need some getting used to just because they are so different from the CTC tea bags. You expect the loose leaf to be strong like the CTC, but the flavor is much more subtle with the bigger leaf – not just a punch of caffeine. I know with every cup I steep up of teas like this, I love them more and more. Again, no smoke at all, so I think the name Lapsang Souchong might scare some away. Not what I expected in the way of a smoky tea, but it was a delicious surprise. I’d throw this in my Teasenz cart, though it’s out of stock at the moment. Try a sample!
Steep #1 // 1 tsp // 5 min after boiling // 3 min steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 4 min steep
http://www.teasenz.com/lapsang-souchong-black-tea#.U_DokMjD9hg