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makes 10 cups
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14¢ per cup
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12¢ per cup
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10¢ per cup

Lapsang Souchong

271
reviews
rating
79

Description

Black tea from the Fujian province of China. Lapsang Souchong tea (also called Russian Caravan tea) has a famously smoky aroma and flavor. To create this, tea leaves are dried in bamboo baskets over pine fires, achieving a perfect balance of smoke and tea flavor. Our 'Eroica Caravan' typically draws strong reactions: you'll either love it or hate it.

Story

The Lapsang Souchong tea is often referred to as Russian Caravan. The name 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. And thus, the smoky tea varieties became associated with Russia, and often have Slavic or Russian monarchy names, like Czar Nikolai or Ekaterina.

Reviews

 | Negative: 40
 | Neutral: 40
Positive: 191
customer photo
review rating stars
Evan G.
Jul 2nd '09

"This tea just isn't for me. Not a flavor I enjoyed. However I gave what I had leftover to a coworker who loved it."
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review rating stars
Michael K.
Jun 29th '09

"It has a strong aroma of myrrh prior to brewing. Once in the cup, this exceptionally strong flavored tea maintains its resin aroma, and adds a very smokey flavor which dominates the taste. Because of the bold strong flavor, you'll likely love it or hate it. "
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review rating stars
Scott D.
Jun 5th '09

"Lapsang Souchong – The history of this tea is what originally made me interested. I read the history of its creation in a book, and really wanted a chance to try it out, so I was very happy to find it on here. I have recently converted a couple of friends over to tea, and as soon as this came in the mail I had them over so we could try it out. The smell of this tea – dry and steeped – is awesome. This is an excellent tea, and very strong! We all really liked the flavor and smokiness of it, I was able to get a few steeps out of the leaves. I even had a bit left over when my friends left, so I stuck it in the fridge for iced tea, and that was interesting! I’m buying more of this today! A tip: keep this away from your other teas, the smell is so strong your other teas will pick it up!"
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review rating stars
Tamas J.
Jun 1st '09

"This is the perfect rainy day and fall tea. It has a wonderful smoky aroma and flavor without being too overpowering."
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review rating stars
Mcfadden H.
May 26th '09

"The best way I can think of to describe this tea is that the dry leaves bring up memories of smoked bacon being fried and the tea itself taste like creosote in a good way. If you like smokey teas then you'll love this one."
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review rating stars
Julie W.
Apr 28th '09

"I was a little hesitant to try this at first, but being curious I did. The flavour reminds me of a camping trip I once had. Like earth and the smoke from a fire."

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