Lapsang Souchong

Tea type
Black Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Astringent, Smoke, Bitter, Dark Bittersweet, Smoked, Ash, Earth
Sold in
Bulk, Loose Leaf
Caffeine
High
Certification
Kosher, Organic
Edit tea info Last updated by Shae
Average preparation
Boiling 4 min, 45 sec 8 oz / 236 ml

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We don't know when or if this item will be available.

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12 Tasting Notes View all

  • “Yesterday afternoon, I needed a energy boost. But, I was also heading out the door. I just received my tea order from Mountain Rose Herbs, so I reached my hand in the box blindly and pulled this...” Read full tasting note
    91
  • “Tea of the morning…. (and my daily hard core black) I picked up some of this on my recent order to Mountain Rose Herbs. The price was very good for an organic and fair trade tea at $4.50 for 4...” Read full tasting note
    85
  • “I was really curious about this particular Lapsang in the box o’ lapsangs that Hesper June sent! I wondered how the quality would be since this isn’t a company dedicated to tea, but rather herbs...” Read full tasting note
  • “After months of wondering about the infamous lapsang souchong, I finally got to try one this morning. I was visiting some friends who are also massive tea drinkers (although their tastes differ...” Read full tasting note
    75

From Mountain Rose Herbs

Organic lapsang souchong tea is a dark and smoky black tea best suited for the seasoned or adventurous tea drinker. Its distinct profile comes from being gently smoked over pine bark and needles, producing a flavor unlike any other. This tea is grown in Fujian Province of China, where lapsang souchong originated.

Add a touch of your favorite milk or cream to create a more mellow flavor, or fresh-squeezed lemon if you prefer. A little sweetener is also welcome in this alluring tea. Our organic lapsang souchong tea is a brilliant addition to many different culinary recipes including marinades, dressings, sauces, and even cocktails or non-alcoholic mocktails. The leaves may also be included in dry spice rubs.

Contains caffeine.

Aroma and Flavor
The aroma of this black tea is robust, with smoky and earthy notes. Its flavor is a heavier black tea that is not too bitter, with woodsmoke notes that come through at the end.

Brew Instructions
Add 1 teaspoon of tea to a cloth tea bag or mesh basket and place in your favorite mug. Pour 8 ounces of boiling water over the tea and steep for 3-5 minutes. Experiment with the length of steep time and quantity of tea and find your ideal cup!

https://mountainroseherbs.com/lapsang-souchong-tea

About Mountain Rose Herbs View company

Company description not available.

12 Tasting Notes

91
169 tasting notes

Yesterday afternoon, I needed a energy boost.
But, I was also heading out the door.
I just received my tea order from Mountain Rose Herbs, so I reached my hand in the box blindly and pulled this out.
I had forgotten I had even ordered this tea.
I actually ordered it for my Hubby.
He likes black teas, when he does drink tea and I thought this tea would appeal to him.
I almost groaned inwardly when I grabbed it though, I have had a terrible Lapsang Souchong experience.
But, there was no time, brew it up and stick it in a mug and out the door I run.
Ten years ago my father was experimenting with new flavors of tea and bought a Lapsang Souchong from somewhere…I wish I could remember where so I could avoid it.
But, it tasted nothing like this tea, it was so highly smoky it caused me to have a headache when he brewed it.
It was a chemically smoky smell, like someone had dumped liquid smoke into a cup.
Enter me taking a sip of this tea.
Well, Hello There!
Surprise was so written over my face yesterday, that the person I was talking to asked me if I was all right. (I mean, I did just take a sip from my cup, then my hand flutters to my chest and a look of complete surprise on my face… I think I should try new teas at home and not in front of others from now on:)
It is lightly smoky, not intense, the odor is like a campfire across the canyon rather then sticking my face in a trash burner (what I would say the other tea tasted like)
The tangy smoke hits the tongue and then a well rounded sweetness emerges.
In fact it is a earthy sweetness, like honey.
Last night I went to bed thinking of this tea, so much so, that I had to tell myself, like a child waiting for Christmas, that the sooner I fall asleep, the sooner morning will come and then I can drink more of this tea.
Brewed in my Libre, it has a lovely rosy red color.
It holds up to a second infusion well.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec
Relmaster

Wow ..great review!! Sounds soo complex and yummy..I have never tried a Lapsang Souchong before. I would love to try this tea..is it expensive? added to shopping list ;)

Lucy

Lovely review! Welcome to the world of delicious Lapsang Souchongs!

Hesper June

Relmaster, All of Mountain Rose Herbs Teas are very reasonably priced, this tea is $4.50 for 4 ounces! (Plus the fact that it is good for 2-3 infusions, makes it really cost effective!)
Thank you both for your kind words:)

ScottTeaMan

Even if you get 1 steep, that’s cheap in the world of specialty tea.

Hesper June

Yes, Scott I agree.
In fact, when I first was looking at MRH’s teas they were so cheap compared to other teas that I thought there was no way they could be good quality.
But, everything I have gotten from them is fresh and tasted wonderful.
I think they cut costs by not using tins, they are really nicely packaged for shipment, but when they arrive but you do need to put them in your own tins.

JacquelineM

Scott and Hesper June – MRH is also the same way with everything they sell – very high quality, very reasonable prices. I think because like you said, less packaging, plus bulk ordering. Their rose water is so reasonable and the best quality I’ve ever used. Also, their culinary spices are a fraction of the price of the supermarket, but loads higher in quality (and in many cases, organic!)! Love, love, love them.

Bonnie

Your LS is well priced. My local is about the same.
Puripan organic 2oz for 4.99, Teavivre 3.5oz 8.90

Hesper June

Well said Jacqueline, they are a great company!

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85
985 tasting notes

Tea of the morning…. (and my daily hard core black)

I picked up some of this on my recent order to Mountain Rose Herbs. The price was very good for an organic and fair trade tea at $4.50 for 4 ounces I was really wanting it for smoking up my Franken Breakfast Blend a little. (And the Assam at a similar price will be used to kick it up a notch….by the time I am done blending, I will be smokin’ and jittery.) I needed to try it on its own, though, just to see how the flavors would blend.

I have to say I was a little apprehensive on trying this as I am not super knowledgeable when it comes to this kind of tea. I have only tried a few varieties. It is not Hu Kwa, but it is very good. Definitely a campfire smell, but the tea itself is smooth and very easy to drink, like Keemun on overdrive. I am not sure a Lapsang noob like me would need anything fancier than this. It has me rethinking my planned purchase of Lapsang Souchong Black Dragon from Upton in the Fall. Yes, when I sweeten this, I get toasted marshmallows….or maybe I should edit that to read the burned torch-like marshmallows that you blow out before you eat them. Is that more accurate, Cheryl? ;)

The packaging is interesting. It is a cute cubical box with some kind of flip top arrangement. Then inside the box is a cello bag with a long free end that is rolled up and secured with tape. I am pretty sure by half way into this, the tape won’t hold much from resticking. I think I will end up transferring to a tin.

The only thing that really bugs me about this company is the price of shipping. It makes it so I can only shop there about once a year. They are in OR and I am in OH. Shipping starts at around $10 and goes up from there. I do like their stance and business practices. I do recommend having your order well thought out before your submit. I have seen online reviews of issues with returns and they do not allow you to change your order once it is submitted.

Usual mug method.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec
Indigobloom

that is not very good customer service! :/
still,sounds deeelish!

SimplyJenW

Yes, it sounds like growing pains. From the reviews it sounds like their CS is hard to reach.

Cheryl

If my marshmallow turned black or even too dark, it got tossed into the fire, lol. Proof that my tastebuds are weird is that marshmallows actually fall into the “too sweet” category for me (turn into rice krispy treats and the pan is unsafe around me though). But yes Jen, more accurate : )

JacquelineM

The shipping is really steep. I justify it by making only 2 or 3 big orders a year, and because I save sooooo much money buying culinary herbs in bulk from them. Also their rosewater is the best I’ve ever used…and their essential oils!

I went and ordered 3 different lapsangs from Teaspring after reading Bonnie’s description of a good one :) I also threw in some Tan Yang Te Ji to try! Just like the Gong Fu Black from Zhi tea, I am already sure it’s going to be good from your description :) I do have sone question – just curious – do they ship it so that you have to sign for your order? I saw that the no signature option was disabled when I ordered, leading me to believe I should expect a little green card instead of my tea, but wasn’t sure.

SimplyJenW

Yep, I had to sign for package from TeaSpring.

SimplyJenW

Oh, and looking forward to your reviews on the organic LS I am assuming you ordered!

Bonnie

If anyone wants to try a couple that I have from my local shop let me know. I like them!

JacquelineM

Yes, I ordered the organic, the smoked, and the Yin Jun Mei Souchong. I will ask my husband’s thoughts – they are all for him. His fave so far is the Lapsang #1 from Harney from all the ones I gave to him so far, so we’ll see. I also ordered the higher grade of the Tan Yang as well as the Tan Yang Te
ji for comparison’s sake.

Bonnie

You will never ever ever ever ever guess what I did with my Lapsang Souchong tonight…..well….I don’t like the smell of my broccoli steaming in the steamer basket (and I had 2 bunches going from Whole Foods)…so I put 2 pinches of …you got it…Lapsang Souchong in the water and….oh WOW…the smell is wonderful and the flavor! So….good! Ya boy!

Dylan Oxford

Man, I just looked at this website… and for me (one state away) the USPS shipping is only about $7. Which is totally made up by a purchase of tea at those prices.

TeaBrat

I really need to try cooking with lapsang…

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3226 tasting notes

I was really curious about this particular Lapsang in the box o’ lapsangs that Hesper June sent! I wondered how the quality would be since this isn’t a company dedicated to tea, but rather herbs in general. Several of their teas get great reviews, though, so we gave it a go, and were not disappointed. Youngest thought it was good, and she is a Lapsang lover. It has a bright, sweet base that I am thinking may be largely Ceylon. This went very nicely with our lunch of chicken soup and cheese toast! Thank you, Hesper June!

Hesper June

This is one of my favorites.
The slight honey sweetness is such a delightful surprise.
And 4 ounces only cost $4.50!

ashmanra

That qualifies it for a spot on the Cheapster Steepster list!

Hesper June

Ha! I guess so! All their teas are very reasonably priced.
Plus, they are organic and fair trade.
Another one of my favorites from them is called Ancient Forest, it is a lovely black tea that is also quite cheap.

ashmanra

I have been looking at that one! I wanted the sleepy tea for my hubby, too. The name was very complicated, LOL!

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75
336 tasting notes

After months of wondering about the infamous lapsang souchong, I finally got to try one this morning. I was visiting some friends who are also massive tea drinkers (although their tastes differ from mine a bit), and they let me look through their stash. I pulled this one out and expressed my keen interest, and we all agreed to try it since none of us had ever had it before.

The smell of the leaves is something else! I thought campfire; one friend thought brisket; more than one of us seemed to think bad. Indeed, it was smoky in the way that’s a few shades past a good smell, to that dark headiness that just causes a headache. Rather overpowering. The tea, however, was fine. The smokiness was much more subdued to the point of being pleasant, and it just had a nice, black tea-style headiness. I thought it was decent; the other friend visiting the house seemed to like it; the husband who was hosting loved it; his wife was quite “meh.” That’s the fun of wild-ass teas like lapsang souchong, though – you never know what kind of reaction you’re going to have!

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88
73 tasting notes

This is the first and only Lapsang I have tried. After first tasting it, I decided I need not look elsewhere, as this tea seems just right. It is not overpoweringly smoky and has a nice lingering sweet aftertaste. To sum up, it is a lightly smoky, piney, sweet, and satisfying brew—perfect on a chilly fall day!

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35 tasting notes

Well it’s the kind of day where a little lapsong found it’s way into my celestial seasonings cherry berry. I felt a bit warm and to keep it warm and toasty I brewed the lapsong first, then added only one bag of the cc. lovely little drink

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86
2170 tasting notes

We’ve spent the last couple of days preparing to learn and attempt TNR (Trap/Neuter/Return) for the first time. Someone from our local cat-loving FB group came to our house last night and taught us how to use and bait the traps, and so today we’ve been trying to catch the two ferals who live in our community. We tried for a couple hours last night and now again all day today, but we haven’t seen either cat at all (which is very unusual). I had reached out to my neighbors earlier in the week to make sure the cats were indeed feral and received some pushback about trapping them. Apparently at least one of the neighbors thought I was trapping the cats to hurt them, which makes me really sad, and now I’m starting to worry we’ve been sabotaged. I explained what I was doing and why, but I don’t know if they were convinced. My brother says the cats are probably feasting on a gourmet buffet down the street, so they aren’t at all interested in my smelly mackerel. I’m a little bummed, no point in pretending I’m not. I don’t know why I thought we’d get them on the first try, but I suppose this is a good test of my patience.

So while I sit here, with one eye on the trap and the other on my inbox, I’m sipping on this mug of deliciousness. This tea is oh-so-dark and deep and smoky and bittersweet. Just perfect for this chilly afternoon. Bonus: I can drink it inside with the heat on, at least until dark.

Flavors: Bitter, Dark Bittersweet, Smoked

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
AJRimmer

That’s so awesome that you’re doing that!

Mastress Alita

I really want to do TNR, but don’t know any groups in my area. :-(

Shae

I was so intimidated, but the trap is so much easier to work than I thought it would be! Of course I haven’t actually caught anything yet so stay tuned. :D

It was good to have someone show me, but I learned a lot of the details from this video: https://youtu.be/wF_omFE7Etc?list=PLZyDy7gy9vwr0m119g5poGvgHM-4Wxv80.

Mastress Alita

I recommend the videos by Kitten Lady on YT. She has some good TNR ones with tips for dealing with both the kitties and the humans that look after community cats.

Shae

Yes! Kitten Lady is my go-to for just about everything.

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