Taiwanese Lapsang Souchong

I wanted to make a coconut milk latte, but needed to pick a tea with lots of flavour that wouldn’t be obliterated by the coconut. A smoky tea seemed perfect! Voila, coconut maple lapsang souchong latte. It’s delicious, and undoubtedly twice the calories of my other latte due to the coconut milk, and the fact that I obviously (deliciously) overdid it on the maple syrup. Probably should start adding smaller amounts, tasting, and topping up if needed.

Anyhow, I’ve always adored smoky teas as lattes, and this is no exception. The coconut adds a deliciously different dimension, but there is still plenty of smoke. So good.

The only downside is that I’ve just dosed myself heavily with two cups of caffeine/sweetness right before going to bed… oops.

Lately I have been sampling some smoky teas. This one is very smoky. I usually just add sugar to tea, I almost never add any sort of milk. This was just too smoky so I added what I had, an unflavored, sweetened coffee creamer. I don’t drink any dairy milk products so I had none in the apartment. It did a very good job of cutting the smoky flavor of this tea.

I brewed this once in an 20oz teapot with 2 tsp leaf and 200 degree water for 2 min.

I’d say I’m a fan of smoky teas, and I expected magical things from the one Butiki decided to stand behind. Especially as all teas Taiwanese from Butiki have been amazing. The medium sized leaves here certainly have a smoky scent. I tried this a couple weeks ago and didn’t love the result, so I tried it again, making sure to follow Butiki’s parameters as much as possible. Sadly, this Lapsang doesn’t meet my magical Butiki level expectations. Sure, it’s good. But it isn’t special. The smokiness takes over, very strongly, which I thought I was accustomed to, but if the base tea is sure to be really good, I would prefer that the smoke doesn’t take over. It’s like BBQ and a campfire, all of those things you expect from a smoky tea, but nothing more. That lovely sweet marshmallow flavor I sometimes find isn’t here either. The second steep has a ton of flavor as well. I’m glad this Lapsang was around to make the Smoky Banana tea delicious though!
Steep #1 // 1 tsp // few min after boiling // 2 min
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3 min

Thank you Kittenna for passing a few cups of this one along to me! I honestly still can’t believe that I actually requested a Lapsang sample; but it all boils down to seeing someone review this one and commenting that it was surprisingly “sweet”. After that, I just couldn’t get it out of my head, and had to try it.

The dry leaf has, like one should expect from Lapsang, a strong smell that’s definitely very smokey but there are also strong notes of leather and wood as well that round it out and make it seem a little more interesting.

It seems rather “manly” to me, despite a general smooth (dare I say “silky”) quality; no “grit” here. I feel like it’s something I could convince my roommate to drink. In general he’s not a tea drinker; though I can occasionally get him to try things. He likes bolder flavours and shys away from things that are ‘dainty’ or overly floral; this seems right up his alley! Personally I’m still rather wary about trying this one, but honestly it didn’t smell as offensive as I was anticipating! Already I’m very impressed.

I cut my steep time a little short; I was worried about the tea getting too strong. This is actually really, really good though! Like I observed with the dry leaf this is rather smokey with a leather-like quality to it and the taste of oak – just like is mentioned in the tea’s description. There’s also a rather jammy quality to this one that makes the whole cup softer and more agreeable. Plus, it levels out the ratio of sweet and savory flavours in the blend which makes it feel more well rounded and balanced. I would describe the jam note as very stonefruit-y, leaning towards black cherries. This is the first Lapsang I’ve ever had that hasn’t assaulted me with harsh notes of tabacco or ash, essentially making me feel like I’ve just licked an ashtray.

Overall this is just a very agreeable tea; it perfectly conveys what Lapsang teas are all about – the smokiness of it, while maintaining a softness and uniqueness. It’s very sad Butiki is closing because, while I previously thought it unthinkable I’d ever want to stock a straight Lapsang tea, this is one I could see myself drinking often and would want around! I don’t believe it’s yet sold out so I may grab a little more.

I recommend this one to people experienced with Lapsang who want to try something just a little different as well as to Lapsang virgins; I think this will convey to people unfamiliar with Lapsang who nice a strong, smokey tea can be without overwhelming them with strong ash or tobacco notes.

smoke scent? check. smooth taste? check. overly smoky? negative! hahaha… so this is one of those lapsangs where a lot of it’s bite is in the aroma. Actually drinking this, it’s clearly a smokey tea but nowhere as smokey as i expected it to be based on smell alone. I’m looking forward to seeing how stacy blends this one with banana! :) glad i was able to pick up a bit of this one in my order!

This tea is off the chain! I’m no stranger to lapsang souchongs as a fan of smoke, even hits-you-in-the-face-ashtray smoke teas. This is, I’m pretty sure, the best smoke tea I’ve ever tried. It doesn’t shy away from that intense smoky quality that distinguishes LSs from other mildly smoky-hinting teas, BUT there is a splendid sweetness at the end of the sip that sets it apart, and so much wonderful complexity in between—I could be hallucinating but I swear I get nuttiness, chocolate, and a little bit of fennel. Ever so slightly woody feel without being so noticeable as to veer into, say, Darjeeling territory. So many LSs are blunt instruments, the sort where you don’t feel bad using up some ground up for meat-free smoke rubs for roasted veggies or whatnot to give them a grilled flavor. I wouldn’t think of wasting any of this one on that though—too subtle, too many worlds inside it. Fantastic.