12 responses to “Tea Classico’s Lapsang Souchong [Episode 75]”

1. Great video and review yet once again. Thanks for doing these. Last time I had LS was about a year ago in a hotel for afternoon tea. It was way over-smoked and I couldn’t really taste the tea. But I understand that it doesn’t have to be that way: I’ve been wary of ordering Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong lest it’s over-smoked. I wonder how tea classico’s measures up?

   Did you know it’s the quintessential English upper-class tea? BTW, in my experience (my mother’s side of the family is English), the Brits take their tea with milk. But if you want to try cream in your tea, you’d be well to try an East Frisian blend of black teas ( that is typically served in East Frisia in the north of Germany with a dollop of cream and rock sugar! I’ve only had it black, which is apparently unthinkable to my German friends. Here’s a link to how to prepare it http://youtu.be/JQitqaJmEr8. Although in German, the images make it understandable. Interesting technique: first fill a third of the tea pot and leave for four minutes, then fill the rest of the pot. Also, when you don’t want any more, you place your spoon in the cup.

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   • Hi Arnold,

     Thanks for the comment and sharing your experience with Lapsang. I’m not super familiar with Lapsang. This tea was definitely smoky, but other flavors were pretty clearly apparent as well.

     Very interesting to hear about people’s different tea preparation methods and culture all around the world.

     Cheers!
     -James

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2. The price on this tea at Tea Classico is quite high – $32 for 100 g. Unless it is superb LS, I think that is too much to pay for this type of tea.

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   • Hi Peter,

     Thanks for the comment! I’m unfamiliar with the market/standard price for Lapsang, so am unable to speak to your point. I suppose Lapsang is usually more of a daily drinking tea for many?

     I did find this tea quite enjoyable though :).

     Cheers!
     -James

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     • Thanks for the comment. Regardless of my opinion, do you think the tea is worth the money? I suppose (upon further reflection) that my view is partly shaped by my dislike of the tea in question.

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       • That’s a good question. For me, it was a decent tea but I’m not especially interested in black teas (or Lapsang) and would probably pass.

         Denny (who drinks far more of these) seemed to enjoy it a good deal though.

         Hope this helps a bit!
         -James

         Reply

3. I look forward to the video every Tuesday here, I feel a big weight of stress lift up and away every week! Thanks so much!

   Last Lapsang for me was a tin of Twinnings in the early 1990’s. Don’t think I’ve even explored all of the categories yet on Tea Classico, and I definitely will. Cheers!

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   • Hi Cwyn,

     Thanks for the kind words! I’m glad to hear you enjoy Tuesday + our episodes so much.

     Tea Classico definitely has some winners in their catalog.

     Cheers!
     -James

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4. James and Denny,

   Have you tried the 2012 Zhengshan Xiaozhong from Chawangshop before? It’s sold out and Honza only carries Waishan LS now but his ’12 ZSXZ was a tea of great delicacy with the smoke being incredibly subtle. The Tea Classico picture indicates that their leaf grade is not AA+ so I’m curious what really differentiates the Tea Classico LS for $32/100g which is twice the cost of the Chawangshop.

   Thanks a bunch,
   Hster

   p.s. Also could you dump out the leaves so we can actually see the leaf quality.

   Reply

   • Hi Hster,

     Thanks for the comment. Also, for all your writings on tea over several years.

     I know for this session the leaf quality was not all that great. The leaves were all small and fairly broken up, somewhat consistent with what’s on the Tea Classico site. That’s a good idea re: dumping the leaves. Something we’ll have to try to incorporate in the future.

     I’m afraid I’m not a very experienced Lapsang drinker, so I don’t really know how good (or bad) of a deal this tea is. CWS Lapsang does sound like a winner though! Will send this over to Denny and perhaps he can speak more to that.

     Cheers!
     -James

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   • hste,
     I’ve tried that LS from TC and I should admin that your observation is correct , it is not looking like AA+ but it is definitely authentic LS which is rare, 90% of LS varieties you see on the market is not from Tong Mu and called LS just because tea was smoked (in many cases artificially smoke flavored). Traditionally processed authentic tea is rarity because producers could not cope with the demand and they really don’t need us (foreigners) in order to sell their teas. I think you should try it anyway before you come up with final price/performance judgement .

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     • Hi V.F.,

       Thanks for weighing in. I’m afraid I’m a bit out of my depth when evaluating these sorts of teas more seriously. Your input is much appreciated.

       Cheers!
       -James

       Reply

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