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“I wish I could say that I enjoyed a big pot of this today, but when my five ounce cup was empty and I reached for the pot to refill, youngest had already polished off the whole thing! LOL! DOULTON...” Read full tasting note
“Needed this uplift of lapsang, darjeeling, and keemun after my appointment. The verdict a level/grade 2 sprain of the knee and ankle. So an air cast it is for at least three weeks. Could have been...” Read full tasting note
“Oh! The Purrfect Cup sent this my way! I’m VERY grateful! Thanks so much! This is really something! The LS is a bit more gentle and I like it. Sure…it’s a bit smoky but you can TASTE the 3...” Read full tasting note
“This came as a swap from ashmanra – thank you so much! I have to say I have been curious about this one for a while. I haven’t been a fan of smoky teas in the past but they seem to be growing on...” Read full tasting note
Description:
A bit of Lapsang Souchong is blended with Keemun and Darjeeling, yielding a mildly smoky tea. Perfect for an afternoon uplift. Another special (whole-leaf) blend from our London source of fine teas.
Origin:
England
Steeping Suggestions: –
Leaf Quantity: 2¼ g/cup
Water Temp: 212º (boiling)
Steep Time: 3-4 min.
Company description not available.
I wish I could say that I enjoyed a big pot of this today, but when my five ounce cup was empty and I reached for the pot to refill, youngest had already polished off the whole thing! LOL! DOULTON sent me a huge amount of this, and I am glad because it looks like I will be keeping it on the shelf for the “little one”, who is several inches taller than I am already by the way but that wasn’t hard to do.
Sweet and smokey, like grandda’s cherry pipe tobacco! Guess I will have to brew up another pot.
Needed this uplift of lapsang, darjeeling, and keemun after my appointment. The verdict a level/grade 2 sprain of the knee and ankle. So an air cast it is for at least three weeks. Could have been much worse. Anyway I wanted something comforting and familiar when I got home this afternoon and reached for this. I love the smokey lapsang and how it plays so well with the other two teas. Now off to elevate the leg and relax with this cup.
Oh! The Purrfect Cup sent this my way! I’m VERY grateful! Thanks so much!
This is really something! The LS is a bit more gentle and I like it. Sure…it’s a bit smoky but you can TASTE the 3 bases. The LS, the Keemun, and the Darjeeling…Individually as well as combined. I am thinking I enjoying the Keemun flavors the best out of the 3 – but I am partial to a flavorful Keemun! This is even great for a 2nd infusion! lovely! YUM!
I’m going to share a bit with LiberTEAs but I could see myself drinking this many days of the week if I had a huge amount in my stash!
YUMMO!
Wow, I have never even tried to resteep this! Good to know!
I’m thinking the Keemun actually pops thru more-so in the 2nd infusion :)
I have totally got to try this one.
It is my go to afternoon tea…unless I’m out of it at work which it appears I am. :(
I just might order this. I can’t get Stash to take my money at the moment — their site’s all effed up over accounts and passwords and won’t even let me order as a guest — so I think I’ll try Upton. Anything else from these guys you’d recommend?
This came as a swap from ashmanra – thank you so much! I have to say I have been curious about this one for a while. I haven’t been a fan of smoky teas in the past but they seem to be growing on me. Lapsang is pretty strong on its’ own but I am finding I like it blended in things.
This afternoon we were out paddle boating on Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park. It’s been foggy today and we were tired. I suggested to my sweetie that we try this, it smells good!
I never would have thought to put darjeeling in a blend like this but it somehow works. There is a very flowery note which is balanced out well by the keemun and the lapsang, which provide a dark smoky note. However, the smoke does not seem overwhelming to me, it doesn’t really overpower the tea. It even has a little bit of sweetness. This is a great one to just sip on straight, we really are enjoying it. I think I’ll have to pick some up when I order from Upton next!
I am intrigued by the name – reminds me of an old Gerry Rafferty song. (Dating myself)
I got a big bag of this from Doulton and was shocked when my youngest daughter loved it. I will have to get more from Upton before I run out!
I didn’t think I would like it, but it’s good!
@Azzrian I thought Sherlock Holmes, which may date me back somewhere in the 1800s
@Azzrian-a few months ago wee went through the whole Gerry Rafferty thing and now my kids have him on their iPods…all because of this tea. LOL! But yes, our first thought was Sherlock Holmes as both my daughters LOVE to read the books! The new series ain’t too shabby, either!
Oh, Amy ho, I thought I was following you? I was wondering why I had not seen your pretty lama face : )
sometimes Steepster does that, it has unfollowed some of my peeps before. Welcome back, Tea Fairy. :)
I like this one alot too, but have not found a straight LS I can drink on a consistent basis.
I know! I lost teawing for a while, and haven’t seen JENN in forever! Maybe it unfollowed her, or she just hasn’t been on much.
A gift from ashmanra. She said it would make sing. (Clears throat – me, me, me, me) Mama Mia, Mama Mia, Mama Mia Figaro… Well you get to decide whether that counts as singing ;) This is good! My longer review is here: http://theeverdayteablog.blogspot.com/2012/08/upton-tea-imports-baker-street.html
♫ The best part of wakin’ up — is Sherlock Holmes in mah cup!♫
I had the last of my sample this morning :( But it’s on the “I should invest in more of this the next time I order from [insert name of tea company]” list. NE with benefits.
I was so into Sherlock Holmes and mysteries growing up. :-)
I was a Nancy Drew gal myself :)
Oh and Nate The Great going back even further. LOL :)
Dating myself here but my all-time best all time kid Christmas gift ever was a crate full of ALL THE TRIXIE BELDEN MYSTERIES. (There weren’t that many at the time :o) Geeky fourth-grade heaven!
I don’t know that series. For me it was more Sherlock Holms, Nate The Great, and Choose Your Adventure books. I guess you can sorta tell how old I am too.
(wrinkling, sagging, and greying even as I type)
LOL! Y’all are awesome :) And I also enjoyed Choose Your Own Adventures and was so very excited to find a good number of them at my library.
(flabbing and sagging even more … I read them WITH my son ….)
So I was directed to the Upton Tea site, recently, where, noticing that they have $1 samples and possessing no self-control, I promptly bought something like 15 different samples of tea. This is the first of them that I’ve tried and I really like the blend. Just the right amount of smoky. I’m not that into smoky teas so not exactly something I’ll be drinking on a daily basis, but certainly a nice break from the norm.
Ummm… what’s self control??? lol! I also just had to say I’m quite a bit like you in my tea drinking based on your last paragraph- although I think I probably add milk to my chai more often than you do. My only other exception is Numi’s chocolate pu erh… but that’s pretty much chai like cuz it has cinnamon and nutmeg.
Hmm, the entire point, for me, of adding milk to chai is to take the sharpness off the taste of the spices. Since that sounds like what you’re doing with the chocolate pu erh, I declare your milk usage valid! (and I’m sure you deeply care about my validation :D )
Actually not really. I just do it cuz it tastes good. The spices are way too light in the Chocolate Pu Erh to be anywhere close to sharp. It just depends if I want a milky texture or not, and if I’ve had my one serving of milk per day. (Even if I drank chai all day I’d only use a total of 1 cup of milk). A mark of a good chai (and a good tea in general) for me is that it could always be drank clean.
Amen to that last sentence!
And now, I quietly freak out because looking at your tealog has enlightened me to the fact that there exist such things as beer tea and bacon tea.
Oh yes… and their goooood! I’m dying for a vegetarian to try the bacon tea (all ingredients are vegan).
Those $1 Upton Tea samples are addicting…I love this tea in the morning w.a little milk and sugar…
They’re terrible is what they are! I have no idea where I’m going to put all those samples – my tea cabinet is already full >.< Also: afternoon blend in the morning? madness!
Samples in general are addicting. It’s scary!
I received this one from the lovely The Purrfect Cup…and of course it had to be a Sherlock inspired blend. Wouldn’t except anything less from her. (If you haven’t, you should seriously check out her tea talk with the venerable Mr. Holmes on her blog. Awesome.)
Anywho…
This was already on the plus side for containing bits of Lapsang in the blend. Whiffing the dry batch was like smelling a good tobacco. Keemun contributed a necessary woodiness, too. On taste, oddly enough, the Lapsang hung back, allowing the Keemun to take point with a sweet and malty punch. The pinesmoked mouthfeel was kept pretty reserved. As blends go, sometime aspects of it were uneven, but still pleasant to sip. A very good afternoon tea.
Even though I had it in the late morning.
Awww thank you for the kind words about that post. I’m working on another one along those lines soon. Glad you enjoyed it.
Good! I was hoping to see more of those.
Yup in the works. As you know those kinds of posts are not the easiest to just crank out.
Don’t I know it, dear. Don’t I know it. By the way, I made mention of your fictional works in my new blog that just went up…now.
I did see that. I was hoping to turn up as a cat in one of them with a penchant for puerh!
Sorry ’bout that. :-/
Happens.
Tea shared with a friend is all the more sweet….. Thank you to ashmanra for sending me this sample. Once again, it goes to show there are Lapsang Souchong blends out there that I like.
The tea is more smokey than I am used to. I know some comes from the Lapsang, but I think some comes from the Keemun, too. I do think this one is a little more tobacco-ey and a little less sweet than the Lapsang Souchong Black Dragon that I really enjoy. Since I am not usually one to add milk to tea, this is probably about my limit on smoke. I may have to do some experimenting with milk again. I am finding that things that did not appeal to me at one point in my tea journey work quite nicely for me at a later date. If anything, this has taught me to keep an open mind…
This sounds awesome just by name (and possible Sherlock Holmes reference alone). I might have to add this to the ‘Teas to Order from Upton’ list.
Wifey Woman, send me your snail mail and I can pop a packet in the post tomorrow!
I can’t send you a message. I think you have to be following me too in order to do that. Thank you for the offer as I’d really like to try it!
I thought I WAS following you! Sorry! Situation amended now! :)
I’ve had a similar experience of shifting taste bud allegiance as well. Would you say this is your favorite Lapsang Souchong that you’ve tried? I generally don’t like smokey teas (especially Keemun, gross!), but so many people have been posting about Lapsang Souchongs that now I just have to try one.
@CHAroma- I prefer Upton’s Lapsang Souchong Black Dragon.
Thanks, I’ll try that one!
Reading about this tea never fails to start Gerry Rafferty (or more specifically, Raphael Ravenscroft) playing in my head!
It’s not yet afternoon, but I decided to try this. I love my man, Jackee Muntz, and know that I have a limited number of dates with him. Will the famous lodgings of Baker Street bring me any joy?
And the answer is a resounding yes. This is a good smoky tea. I can see it joining the permanent cast of characters in my life. And it does conjure up a feel of the Holmsian sitting room. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson have been down in the country for a while tracking down the hound of the Baskervilles and the sitting room retains that masculine flavor of smoke; the Persian slipper containing the pipe-tobacco still hangs, but nobody has lit up for several days so the air is redolent but not noxious.
Upton Teas has an excellent blend here and it makes me eager to pursue my love of smoky teas.
I think Upton is a stand up company. They deliver extremely fast and their service is excellent. And they have an encyclopedic selection of tea. I will have to try this one.
Upton is wonderful. Their prices are really good and the selection is phenomenal.
Upton is what introduced me to tea leaf. A friend directed me there (and I believe this was my first from them). I absolutely love this tea. I just got a new batch from them and have been enjoying it this morning. It says afternoon but for me it’s a morning tea.
I love Upton also, I have about 12 of their samples now.
Upton is the best tea company ever. It’s what you graduate to after you grow up from Adagio.
I am…a shameless…
No.
A rabidly shameless Sherlock Holmes fangirl (print, not movie…pshaw). That alone would be enough to make me want to try this. The fact that it’s slightly smoky seals the deal. Stab some mail into the mantle and save a cup for me!
Does anyone have Gerry Rafferty flashbacks when this tea is mentioned???
Just sayin… :)
Aww, now I feel nostalgic!
Okay, thanks teawing! Just youTubed it and played it for the kids. Youngest heard the opening and asked if it was a 70’s version of Mr. Saxobeat. Um…no. She listened to the whole thing, fell in love with the sax, and is now downloading it for our iPods! Sniff, sniff, sigh!
LOL!!! So glad to have a positive (?) impact on the younger ones…
I started to comment the other day but got distracted, when you mentioned it again today, like a flash, my mind went straight to it AGAIN. Classic Sax riffs for sure!
I just got some of this in the mail! Thank you, ashmanra!
Gee thanks … there goes the soundtrack in my head, too!
Teawing: Youngest just asked me to say “thank you,” as she has Baker Street on repeat.
It came as a shock to my mother when she discovered I was taller than her. She saw our reflections in a window as we were standing next to each other. Then she realised that she was wearing indoor shoes and I was just in socks… :)
How old are your children? I’m beginning to suspect that they’re older than I had initially imagined.
Youngest is 13 but I am pretty short! :)
Oh, and hubby is 6’4" so naturally there was a good chance I would soon be the shortest person in the house. Oldest daughter obliged me by only getting one inch taller than I am. And it IS quite a shock to start to fuss at your kid for not doing their chores and suddenly realize you are looking UP at them!
I thought so. For some reason I imagine she would be around ten-ish. No idea where I got that from. I expect it’s the same sort of thing that makes me get ideas about what people I’ve never met must look like, (You, for example, must surely have dark hair) and then get surprised when I see a picture of them and they don’t look at all like I thought.
@ashmanra: Please tell your youngest that the pleasure is all mine, I am glad she had her musical horizons expanded by this. And, thanks are in order to you as well, the Chai sample arrived late yesterday, I have a quiet Chai front porch evening planned tonight! I will post about it later.
Lastly, now that we have your youngest appreciating some good 70’s music, it might be time to move into the 80’s, dare I say, some New Wave music of my formative days??? ((off to look for tea references)) :)
LOL! would you believe my son loves the forties station on satellite radio? And took dance classes in college to learn to dance to it? I used to sing opera (!!!) but grew up performing mostly in musicals. I had a brother and sister 12 and 17 years older than me so I knew and loved their music. I think the fifties are the main era that has been neglected by me! My college professor for Experimental Music Techniques of the 20th Century studied sonic holography and was a friend of Bob Moog, so I even got a dose of 60’s and early 70’s rock at a VERY classical music school! I love Ultravox, Simple Minds, Paul Young, but also things like Clannad. The kids have the opportunity to hear lots of kinds of music. Make some suggestions! Hubby and I courted to the tunes of Fransican monk John Michael Talbot! Eclectic taste for sure, but can’t stand country! It gives me hives!
I would believe it, my oldest son loves soundtrack composers and musicals. We are not a musical family, not sure where he gets it. I am a history professor, so I love to look at the musical context of different time periods. I loved Ultravox as well, Depeche Mode, Flock of Seagulls, Modern English, The Fixx and the Police. I could go on and on. I am just as comfortable with 18th and 19th century classical and popular music. As for the 50’s, I would suggest the soundtrack from American Graffiti, an early George Lucas film about the end of the 50’s era in California. It has some of the best 50’s and early 60’s American tunes, pre-British invasion. I am eclectic as well, listen to lots of different things.
And you are a former opera singer, that is incredible. :)