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This tea brewed up rather weak the first time I drank it, so this time used double the leaf and it had a lot more taste. The tea can be steeped for 5+ minutes without getting bitter, but I’m not sure steeping longer makes for a better cup. There is definite smokyness here, not sure about the Assam or Yunnan. Sweet, burnt brown sugar lies under the smoky Lapsang Souchong; it reminds me of the top coating on a creme brulee or the sauce in bananas foster. While the caramel taste is interesting, it really doesn’t add much to the tea overall. I wanted to like this tea as it sounds yummy, but even adding honey to the second steeping didn’t change my opinion here. I won’t be drinking this again.

This tea is very interesting, and I’m wondering if I should try blending fennel with some of my other teas that are less than complex. The tea is bright and citrus, but still tart. Its making me think of a favorite apple salsa recipe that uses green apples. I like the salsa with lime tortilla chips, and maybe that’s what this needs, a splash of lime.
For me, this smells better than it tastes, I guess when I use three times the recommended leaf I expect a bit more flavor. Perhaps this taste is a bit too subtle and delicate for me. I’m liking it better as it cools, it seems a bit more balanced, the fennel is more pronounced, and there’s even a slight hint of the black tea base. I have enjoyed all of the sample pack, but I’m not sure I’d purchase this again.

I really want to like this blend, but to me I taste the bergamont more than the Lapsang . I’m not a big fan of bergamont so that makes this blend not so tasty to me. I like smoky teas, so in sips where the LS comes through, this blend is okay. It seems like a missed opportunity to get a more balanced blend, and actually taste the beetroot or the puerh which, to me, seem more Poe than bergamont or LS (which seem rather ordinary for an author like Poe). I like the second steeping better than the first, but it still has too much bergamont and not enough other flavors for my taste.

While this is an interesting tea, its a bit hard to describe. A cross between yellow tea and lapsang? Its roasty and hay up front and smooth toasty caramel at the end. There is a bit going on here, hard to distinguish individual notes. I might have brewed this a bit strong, and the roastyness comes through. Perhaps the toasty creme brulee ending would be more pronounced with a bit less leaf. As for this cup, there is enough bitterness that it tastes like the top of the creme brulee has been burnt. The second steep is the same burnt caramel taste but weaker.

I do like a nice chocolatey golden monkey tea, and this is an excellent example. I probably used more leaf than I needed, but I tend to brew strong cups of tea in the morning, and I was very happy with the flavor it produced. Is this a cup of tea or a chocolate malt milkshake? Well, the temperature would be different, but the taste is about the same. As this cup starts out as a malty piece of chocolate, it blends into slight bitter dark chocolate as an aftertaste. I’m not sure I have ever had an example of Golden Monkey that I liked so much. This is one to savor until it’s gone and purchase again when I’m passing through Fort Collins.

This is a strong cup of tea! Malty and coppery and astringent with a tangy aftertaste that reminds you its a robust cup of tea. I could think of blending it with another, gentler leaf, but I happen to like a strong cup of bold Assam, and this foots the bill. I wouldn’t describe it as complex, its mostly coppery and astringent, with a hint of malt. The lingering taste reminds me of a hoppy, bitter beer like an IPA. The second steeping is not quite as bold, but still has enough of a coppery, astringent flavor to be enjoyable.

A little goes a long way with this tea. SF Herb says its 4th grade dragonwell tea, and I’m not sure I could pick it out as tasting different from other dragonwell teas I have drunk before. Perhaps this tea only has a one note profile, and other dragonwell teas are more complex. It is fresh, green, tastes like cut grass. Its what I think a cup of chlorophyll would taste like. I’ve not gotten a bitter brew from these tea yet, even with questionably hot water (I get impatient). I added a dab of honey to the second steep and its quite a yummy cup to me. I do tend to reach for a black tea in the morning instead of a green tea, but I should drink more of this for a change of pace.

The cornflower in this tea is a bit overwhelming, the supposed malty tea base does not come through at all. Although there isn’t supposed to be any flavoring in this tea, somehow the cornflower leaves a fake aftertaste that I just don’t like. I added a dab of honey to the second steeping, and it didn’t bring out the malty base, but it did soften the cornflower aftertaste.

I got a sample size of this tea and brewed about half western style. The wet leaf smells like caramel and woodsy tobacco. The first steep brewed up strong, but its more of a subtle tasting tea. Its not an astringent, metallic, or robust black tea flavor. A bit hard to describe, the front of the tea is a toasty, slight tobacco flavor, and the end of the tea is a toasty, hay, caramel finish. I’m thinking this is more like a cross between an oolong and a keemun, with a bit more of a roasty finish. As this first cup cools, I’m getting more light chocolate notes. The second steeping is a watered down version of the first, rather weak tea.
It certainly is interesting, not sure I’d go out of my way to purchase, but I might be tempted to add it to an order.

I’ve been sipping down this tea for a while, and have finally gotten around to a review. I use twice the leaf I would for any other Lapsang, and the flavor is still not that strong. This is a decent tea and I tend to add lemongrass or other herb to make it taste a bit more interesting. Today I had it plain and the first steeping was smoky with a hint of licorice. No complex undertones going on here, and oversteeping to bitterness is not an option. The second steeping was a bit more bland. I will sip down the rest of this tea, but I’m not sure I’d buy again, there are better Lapsangs out there.