33 Tasting Notes
Basic, nice mint tea which I got from a Polish friend. The smell is mild but still very fresh and minty, and the taste is what it promises: honest, fresh mint. The aftertaste resembles very clean feeling in mouth, almost medicine-like, and my friend told me that this tea type is actually used as a medical herb in Poland, hence the word Apteczny in the product name. May explain the reason why this one gets drank a lot during flu season in this household. Still not sure if it does affect my stomach as mint is said to, though. I just might end up being very healthy without knowing. Sneaky Polish.
And this type actually works really well as an ice tea also, the taste turns more sharp but it still maintains its’ whole character instead of turning into very narrow dominance of the mint taste itself. Although the first gulp is a bit overwhelming when it’s straight from the fridge, it’s always fun to feel like having suddenly three or four nostrils instead of two. So unless you feel up for exploring the possibility of being able to smell half of the neighborhood after one sip it’s best to let it have a minute to be outside the fridge. Depending of course how strong you’ve made it, one tea bag is good for one cup but for a pot I usually go with two and let them steep longer.
The feeling after drinking it cold feels similar to drinking very, very cold and fresh water or the fresh birch sap when it’s straight from the tree. Sadly the aftertaste in both hot and cold versions is a little too short, it leaves craving for more so normally one cup gets finished rather quickly. The good thing though is that one tea bag can be used even up to three times before it starts losing its’ flavour. Every new brew is a bit different, usually softer than the previous one, but the main characteristics remain altogether.
Very clean and fresh, all in all a nice new encounter with basic, honest mint.
And my friend still wants me to try out their mint as its’ actual plant version, which she didn’t dare to bring through their customs because of the way it was packed resembled a little too much some other..herbs..there are out in the world. We’ll see what will happen.
Preparation
Adding spices and flavouring the tea, with fruits for example, can be seen as a very delicate process when the balance of the taste between the actual tea leaves and the ingredients used for flavouring is at stake.
In my opinion the case of chai is where the aforementioned challenge is the most obvious. Usually the normal encounter goes on like this:
You’re in a situation which demands something spicy and strong to drink, say, for having a cold or enjoying some fine sweet carrot cake. One of the good options is chai, since having a chili cocoa with a cake is just pushing your luck considering the possibility of ending with a sugar rush. Not to mention combining flu with sweet dairy products. And since this site isn’t about whiskeys I’ll just stick with the tea as the best option.
Anyhow.
Then the following ensues: the served chai smells promising, the cinnamon and cardemum linger through your nostrils as well the promise of a nice mellow aftertaste with just a hint of tingling sensations on the tongue, the same one gets after good spicy food. Not to mention what new dimensions it’ll give to the said carrot cake.
Sit back, relax, take a sip, either as a ‘raw brew’ or with some added milk…
And then you feel like breaking an illusion, with which you had no problems at keeping it happily going until the end. In worst cases the sense of loss is similar to getting highly aroused after heavy flirting and dirty talk and then left hanging.
Feeling irritated is saying things nicely.
After trying out various chais from different brands I almost gave up. The usual feeling was being mercilessly teased and not getting any: vanishing taste, non-existant spice palette after adding milk, the feel on tongue when taking a sip mostly just thin and unpleasant. When one type covered the lacking qualities of the previous ones it failed on others.
Needless to say things changed after being introduced to this fine specimen. I’m usually not one to hype, but this stuff can be considered as something I would merrily have as an IV drop when the flu season hits the city. The first sensation is the curiosity aroused by the smell, which is very strong for what it comes to the used spices, and the visual character of the tea when one actually sees the chunks of all the ingredients that are used with the tea leaves.
The taste grants all the promises those two previous aspects give: for the first cup the taste is very heavy with spices, depending of course the time used for brewing and the amount of the used tea as well if there’s milk involved, but it still isn’t dominated with the most obvious ones as cinnamon and cardemum or anise, but gives space for others as well, slowly shifting through a very thin layer of sweetness towards the burning of the black pepper. After the second brew the flavour turns more mellow and the taste of the black tea itself comes more vivid, still keeping the flavour whole and round, as well the taste stays long in the mouth. Nothing is more irritating with chai than a flat, very rapidly vanishing aftertaste which almost makes one panic about the possibility of missing all of the taste buds suddenly.
This is also one of the few chais I’ve tried that work really well with both cold and warm milk. Of course the character changes for more mellow and significantly milder as the milk takes the edge away from the spices, but they’re still there rather than being annihilated.
As well the tea cup.
Preparation
Since the winter is coming, again, one needs to stock up the goods in order to manage their everyday lives during the dark and cold months, which sometimes tend to make people wonder the motives of our ancestors who were curious/brave/simply too stupid and stubborn enough for not asking directions and ending here.
One way of staying sane when everything is pitch black after four p.m. is to have something hot and delicious to drink, and this tea is, in my opinion, one of the best for that. In comparison to, say, Fortnum and Mason’s Lapsang this one does have richer and fuller flavour, which also gives time to actually taste more than just the smokiness this tea is known for. It’s not overwhelming the subtle sweetness it has in both the smell of the leaves themselves and the brewed taste, not to mention the after taste which lingers nicely on the tongue, offering time to sit back and enjoy every sip in peace.
For a member of finnish tar culture this Lapsang offers very pleasing subtle tarry undertone, and it’s always fun to compare this to the Tarry Lapsang for its’ much stronger tarry flavor which usually associates with the scent of wooden boats and smoke sauna. With the basic Lapsang the wood in the flavour is given more dimensions than just the tar or smoke, it’s also very contradictional, as having a very simple and roughly designed wooden chair that has slowly been worn to have a beautiful patina on its’ smooth surface. Or a very nice wooden sauna one enjoys just when the lights go out because of the heavy snowing.
As for the flavour character this tea tends to fall into the category of ‘winter’, as the smoky, tarry, strong and full characteristics are something that may not suite the taste one has during summer, when more subtle and lighter tea types are preferred.
All in all Lapsang Souchong is worth tasting and enjoying with all the senses, a tea which compliments others by its’ delightful character, as well gives a very nice twist when mixed with other teas when one needs to use all that’s left before getting the shelves filled up again.
And makes the cold and wet time of the year just a tad bit warmer.
