I never bought teas from Adagio and one of the reasons is that you do not give actual names of your teas. For instance I recently discovered that your Wuyi variety is actually Wu Yi Shui Xian, and if I would have known that before I would not wait for my next trip to China to buy it.
So my question is - what are real names of your Lapsang Suchongs? Do you have Zhen Shan Xiao Zhong and Yan Xiao Zhong (the only two pure varieties that I know of)? Are there other pure varieties?
Also - you equate Lapsand Suchongs with Russian Caravan and I do not think its correct. Can you clarify?
Thanks.
Alex
Alex--
Thanks for the post.
In Chinese, Zhen Shan Xiao Zhong means "original lapsang souchong." This is indeed what we carry. There are several other ways of producing the smoky flavor and scent (it is done by smoking pine), but the final product of these is not as good (because they usually use bad tea as a base).
As for the difference between Lapsang Souchong and Russian Caravan, the difference is not the tea, rather the history. The name "Russian Caravan" refers to the long, overland journey that tea would travel on from China to the markets in Moscow. Chests of tea would travel on camelback, often taking a year to complete the journey. Russian-bound tea was famous for the smell of the many campfires it would absorb along the way. But it is indeed the same tea, just from a different culture.
Hope this helps,
Chris
Adagio Maestro
ps... i found a picture of our Lapsang Souchong's estate.... here it is:
Thanks for the post.
In Chinese, Zhen Shan Xiao Zhong means "original lapsang souchong." This is indeed what we carry. There are several other ways of producing the smoky flavor and scent (it is done by smoking pine), but the final product of these is not as good (because they usually use bad tea as a base).
As for the difference between Lapsang Souchong and Russian Caravan, the difference is not the tea, rather the history. The name "Russian Caravan" refers to the long, overland journey that tea would travel on from China to the markets in Moscow. Chests of tea would travel on camelback, often taking a year to complete the journey. Russian-bound tea was famous for the smell of the many campfires it would absorb along the way. But it is indeed the same tea, just from a different culture.
Hope this helps,
Chris
Adagio Maestro
ps... i found a picture of our Lapsang Souchong's estate.... here it is:
caravan
Another supplier I've bought from says that their "Smokey Russian Caravan" is lapsang souchong mixed with other Chinese estate teas, as opposed to a straight lapsang souchong, which would be obviously even smokier. I prefer the blends myself, it gives a nice base flavor with the smokey notes over the top.
Russian Caravan is often a blend of China black teas and oolong, sometimes with or without Lapsang added for extra kick, to the best of my knowledge. The company where I get my tea has two Russian Caravan blends, one with and one without Lapsang - the one with is called Samarkand to distinguish between them. This particular one is my one of choice: again, for that little 'extra' that the Lapasang gives.