If this was your first real (non-teabag) Lapsang Souchong experience, was it better or worse than you expected?

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Apr 4th, '09, 11:44
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by olivierco » Apr 4th, '09, 11:44

I have just got the samples! Merci beaucoup!

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Apr 4th, '09, 19:15
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by Salsero » Apr 4th, '09, 19:15

Warden wrote:I had very good results brewing the organic one from teaspring using about a tablespoon of leaf in a 90ml gaiwan (maybe 1/6 leaf?). I didn't rinse, and started with a minute infusion.
Whoa! I tried doing B using Andy's method. Much more distinctive,
: meaty and smokey. Very nice. Reminds me of a Slim Jim.

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Apr 4th, '09, 19:16
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by Chip » Apr 4th, '09, 19:16

Salsero wrote:
Warden wrote:I had very good results brewing the organic one from teaspring using about a tablespoon of leaf in a 90ml gaiwan (maybe 1/6 leaf?). I didn't rinse, and started with a minute infusion.
Whoa! I tried doing B using Andy's method. Much more distinctive,
: meaty and smokey. Very nice. Reminds me of a Slim Jim.
OK, that is scaring me ... 8)

Hopefully try one of the samples tomorrow. Reading the topic, I am pretty excited, sounds really distinctive.
blah blah blah SENCHA blah blah blah!!!

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Apr 5th, '09, 13:44
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by Chip » Apr 5th, '09, 13:44

BTW, TeaDay is dedicated to Lapsang today. As always, you are invited to add your comments, and they would be greatly appreciated.

B. going a gram per ounce water, a little over a minute. Definitely some smoke there, but not like the crap I had 10 years ago that completely turned me off to LS.

It is certainly more mellow than I expected overall. Perhaps a flat Keemun with some smoke initially, later steeps were sweeter but not endearing. If I was at a campfire sipping tea, this would be the overall sensation I guess. I don't think the black used has a lot of depth to it.

Not sure what to make of it exactly, is it a middle grade China black pretending to be a Lapsang or a little afterthought of smoke?

Should I try more or less leaf next time?

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Apr 5th, '09, 13:53
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by scruffmcgruff » Apr 5th, '09, 13:53

B is definitely the weaker of the two, so I'd probably try more leaf.
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Apr 5th, '09, 14:02
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by Chip » Apr 5th, '09, 14:02

Thanks for the quick reply, Scruff!

I was wanting to taste Slim Jims, and just not getting it. :lol:

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Apr 5th, '09, 14:11
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by scruffmcgruff » Apr 5th, '09, 14:11

Sample A definitely tastes more like beef jerky than B. :)
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Apr 5th, '09, 15:46
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by Victoria » Apr 5th, '09, 15:46

Chicken. Go for the A.
:twisted:

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Apr 11th, '09, 02:31
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by Mary R » Apr 11th, '09, 02:31

I tried Sample B again today, brewing English style in my trusty cup/brew basket/lazy system. Tossed the tea in the basket, poured on some boiling water, then went to check my e-mail.

Somewhere around 10 minutes later, I realized I'd forgotten my tea and had now probably brewed it past the point of no return. But I'm cheap, so I tried it anyway.

And it was good. It was smokier and "darker profiled" than a standard Keemun. I usually get a confection sweetness (cocoa, mostly) along with the Keemun smoke. This lapsang was more woody (obviously) and maybe blackberry? Decent mouthfeel, too. A good level of astringency, and a surprisingly "thick" texture.

So. Maybe long English style brews do something for this tea?

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