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Lapsang Souchong

322
reviews
80
rating

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

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Rebecca B.
Apr 4th '10

review rating stars
"My first experience of a smokey tea and I’m loving it! I thought that I was prepared for the smell, but wow – it truly smells like a campfire. Then I had my first cup and was blown away. My palate isn’t very sophisticated so I can’t go into depth more than to say that taste vs. smell is so unique in a good way for me. Plus I get to pretend I’m a fire-breathing monster fueling up for the day when I drink this."
1 vote
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H W.
Mar 9th '10

review rating stars
"This tea may be an acquired taste, but I don't plan on drinking it long enough to find out. The smell is overpowering and the tea just doesn't taste good. It is like drinking liquid smoke. The quick verdict - it stinks and tastes horrible."
[ 5 mins @ 212°F ]
1 vote
customer photo
James S.
Oct 29th '09

review rating stars
"I bought this after reading about it elsewhere online, and don't regret that I did. It's very smoky but I'm accustomed to that taste and appreciate it. It smells a lot stronger than it is, so you have to give it a fair try. A note, though, a lot of my co-workers didn't like it when they tried it, so it is probably an acquired taste, of sorts."
1 vote
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Kristen S.
Oct 30th '02

review rating stars
"NOT my cup of tea! Just getting past the smell is bad enough....I was brave; I tried it -- but one sip is quite enough for me."
1 vote
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Chaundra C.
May 2nd '01

review rating stars
"When they say smoky they mean smoky!! It was all I could taste, it overpowered many of the other more subtle flavors I appreciate in bad tea. "
1 vote
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Allison H.
Aug 29th '10

review rating stars
"Either you love it or you hate it. I love it. If you love the smell of a campfire you'll love it too.There"

Recommendations

Tea Recipes (containing Lapsang Souchong tea)

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