Tea type
Black Tea
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Edit tea info Last updated by Jason
Average preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 15 sec

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19 Tasting Notes View all

  • “It’s a smoky tea – yay! I’ve become so addicted to smoky teas so of course I wanted to try the “original Lapsong tea.” The smell is a little sweeter than my normal lapsang but it’s still pretty...” Read full tasting note
    94
  • “Wanted something different from my usual for my BIRTHDAY TEA, so I am having the last of the Bohea that Auggy sent me. It’s just what was needed: something smooth and slightly sweet, but also very...” Read full tasting note
    91
  • “MY 100th TASTING NOTE! Cue the balloons and confetti. For my 100th post, I chose a tea that I have never had before. I’ve kind of been avoiding Lapsang Souchong teas due to their smell. Not that...” Read full tasting note
    50
  • “Maybe it was the tea fairy’s plan all along to have me spill my Rosy Earl Grey which then forced me to place another Teas Etc. order with a sample of this tea included. Perhaps the tea fairy is...” Read full tasting note
    90

From Teas Etc

This is the original Lapsong tea!

A heavenly, smooth black tea with a sweet oakey note that does not even resemble Lapsong teas of today. I encourage everyone to try this incredible, black tea for a whole new perspective.

Grown high in the Wuyi mountains of China this remarkable tea was once the talk of Europe and made a splash in American history as one of the teas thrown overboard at the Boston Tea

Ingredients: black tea

Origin of Bohea : China

About Teas Etc View company

Direct trade quality loose leaf tea for more than a decade. World Tea Championship winners in 2008 & 2009. USDA Certified Organic. Based in US with buying office in China.

19 Tasting Notes

94
911 tasting notes

It’s a smoky tea – yay! I’ve become so addicted to smoky teas so of course I wanted to try the “original Lapsong tea.” The smell is a little sweeter than my normal lapsang but it’s still pretty smoky. The taste is milder though. It reminds me of Andrews & Dunham’s Caravan – smooth and silky and rich and heavy and smoky (but not too smoky). There’s a dark, rich, almost cocoa-like feeling to it that makes it feel decadent. Not quite a taste, but a feel. (Can a smoky tea be a dessert tea? Probably not but this one give it a good try with the richness.) It is decently mellow as far as smokiness – the smoke is there but it blends so well that it’s not like inhaling a campfire with each sip of tea. It’s heavy and rich (and silky – did I say that already?) without being overpowering or tarry. There’s a very sweet little upswing at the end – maybe sugar or honey or something floral or fruity. I don’t know and honestly, I’m not trying too hard to figure it out because I’m just so busy enjoying it. This is seriously tasty stuff and I think it needs to have a home in my pantry.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 15 sec
Kristin

I like the name of it.

__Morgana__

We learn the origin of this name in the book club book. :-)

Auggy

What’s the book club book?

__Morgana__

For All the Tea in China, by Sarah Rose.

Auggy

Nifty – thanks! I’m off to go look that up!

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91
158 tasting notes

Wanted something different from my usual for my BIRTHDAY TEA, so I am having the last of the Bohea that Auggy sent me. It’s just what was needed: something smooth and slightly sweet, but also very flavorful.

I really like this one best when it has sat for just long enough to reach that magical level of temperature that’s just less than piping hot, but not yet at ‘warm’. It seems to thicken up and get sweeter and fuller-bodied, with a delightfully smooth smoky finish. Mmm.

JacquelineM

Happy Birthday!!!!!!

Brian

Happy Birthday soph! :)

LENA

Happy Birthday!!! :)

Feisty

Happy Birthday!!

Auggy

Yay! Happy (oops, now belated) birthday!

teatortoise

Is that a dan cong… or wuyi? It sounds exactly like the dan cong I have, which is labeled completely in Mandarin…

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50
161 tasting notes

MY 100th TASTING NOTE! Cue the balloons and confetti.

For my 100th post, I chose a tea that I have never had before. I’ve kind of been avoiding Lapsang Souchong teas due to their smell. Not that the smell is offensive, I’ve just never been in the mood to drink them. The tea’s liquor is much lighter than I expected (even lighter than most black teas). I think I was expecting a tarry, murky, dark color to match the smell. Surprise #1. The tea smells like a campfire. Well, maybe not like a campfire per se…but it smells like your clothes after you have been close to a campfire. The 1st taste (the second it touches your tongue) is that of a smooth black tea. Then an overwhelming flavor of smoke and ash (and I mean that in the best of ways) takes over. The after taste is that of residual smoke and a very light sweetness. Odd and interesting. Surprise #2.

I didn’t hate it but I didn’t love it either. I’ll be open to try other LS in the future now that I’ve gotten the initial experience out of the way. I really do like the lingering taste. It’s not like cigar smoke that can hang on for a day or two. It’s like the aftertaste of a nice meal that involved eating smoked ham or something similar.

Now that the world of LS has been opened, it might be time to delve into pu-erh…maybe. Slowly.

Here’s to experiencing 100 more teas.

JacquelineM

Congrats on 100! clinks my tea cup with yours

Angrboda

Why, Lena! It’s your Steepsterversary! Congratulations. :D Shame it didn’t happen with an awesomesauce tea though, but at least you’re not completely scared away.

Dan

Congrats…may your tea cup never be empty.

Mike

Congrats Lena! ;)

LENA

@ JacquelineM – clink clink Cheers to your recent 100 too!

@ Angrboda – Thank you!!! It’s ok…I’m sure I’ll find something wonderful in the TTB. It should be making its way toward TN fairly soon.

@ Dan – Thanks for the kind words. :)

Ricky

Now how did I miss this! Congrats!

~lauren.

WOW! 100+ tea tasting notes! Congrats!

takgoti

WHEEEEEEEEE! Unfashionably late to this party, but congratulations!

Doulton

An auspicious occasion indeed! And cheers for discussing a LS for #100!

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90
371 tasting notes

Maybe it was the tea fairy’s plan all along to have me spill my Rosy Earl Grey which then forced me to place another Teas Etc. order with a sample of this tea included. Perhaps the tea fairy is less capricious than I had thought. Because I loves me some of this tea!

The dry leaves smelled…like an old ashtray?…but not tabacco-ey at all. I was majorly concerned. Steeped it’s a very light smoke (says the Lapsang Souchong lover). I wasn’t impressed with the first few sips. I was getting a woody taste, almost like cardboard and no sweetness. It seemed rather flat. And then slowly this tea started to morph. It seemed like a yummy wood taste (now reading the description it’s like “oak!” ::facepalm::), the smoke is still more of a feeling than a scent/taste, and there’s the nicest sweet aftertaste left over from the sip. Warm Fuzzy detectors engage. My “I need MORE NOW!” feeling kicked in and I knew that this tea’s a keeper.

I’m drinking the second steep right now (added 1 minute to steep time) and I’m liking it more and more. The sweetness is shining through. It’s not as aggressive as most LSes, all the flavors I associate with smoky teas are present, but much more subdued. You know how tv shows and comics have a tendency to turn their characters into babies? http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SpinoffBabies
Well, this is the baby version of Upton’s Black Dragon. If I had to chose between the two it wouldn’t even be a contest: Upton would win with its maturity. But this tea is yummy in its own rights and has earned a permanent spot in my cupboard. TG

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec
-Jessica-

It tastes like oak?! Hmmm this is interesting, I may have to try this one!

Ewa

yeah so, now I have BOTH the mighty morphin’ power rangers theme AND the muppet babies themes stuck in my head. Thanks a lot >:|
On the other hand, they’re replacing Jesse’s Girl, so I guess it IS an improvement.

Rabs

(laughs like Nelson @ Ewa) Hah-hah!

Rabs

@ Jessica: if only you were swapping with someone who has some of this in stock ;)

malomorgen

morphin tea. tempting…

Rabs

I think that’s why I love oolongs and lapsangs so much — because of how much they morph. “Go! Go morphin’ tea-ers!”

-Jessica-

@Rabs – Touché lol

Daniel Mann - Georgia Tea Co.

Hey Rabs, I’ve been working on an earl grey cream, do you want to sample it for me?

Rabs

Are you kidding? Sampling a new product? Count me in! I’ll PM ya :D Thanks so much!!!!!

Rabs

Rock on, good sir! Rock on! :D

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96
259 tasting notes

I have fallen in love with this tea! Does anyone else recall the mention of “Bohea” in “The Rape of the Lock” by Pope? I first encountered this word back in my university days.

Belinda and her bohea and her billets douxs is duly celebrated by Alexander Pope. I ever more appreciate the luxurious and wealthy life Belinda led when I sample this Bohea which came in a package numbered “6” in the wonderful, generous “Geek Pride” package which RABS so nicely sent to me.

One sniff of the dry leaves and I knew that I would love this tea. One person’s old ashtray is another person’s heady perfume! And so this tea brought me waves of exhilaration. It’s a smoky/sweet adventure treat!

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 15 sec

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82
328 tasting notes

Backlogging…

Like others have said before, this is sweet and SLIGHTLY smoky. The smoky flavor in this tea is not overpowering…. It is quite mild and pleasant . I think I am going to enjoy this one….

ashmanra

I didn’t know until a few months ago that I liked smoky! Now I want to try more smoky teas and perhaps even work my way up to being able to keep up with Doulton!

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73
1353 tasting notes

Goodmorning Steepsterites.

Still going on with the warm-ups for sample week, and this poor thing is the choice for today.

Poor? Oh yes, I seem to be thoroughly mistreating it. A little more leaf than I would normally use for a pot, but not enough to split in two. Fine, a stronger cup then. Then the discovery that the saucepan didn’t hold enough water to actually fill the pot, so I’m having to boil more. I hate this way of making tea! Tomorrow the boyfriend is coming home, thankfully, and I have received word that kettle is safely in his possession and that it will fit easily in the suitcase.

In other words, cross your fingers that this doesn’t come out horribly wrong and I haven’t just wasted a sample. And not just any sample, a smoky sample! It almost doesn’t bear thinking about.

However, we are dealing with a Chinese black here, and as we know Chinese blacks will often take an awful lot of abuse before becoming completely undrinkable. Strange that, but it’s part of why I prefer Chinese. They’ll spring back from almost anything.

This one is no exception, and I can’t even taste any traces of the mistreatment it has suffered at my hands. It’s smoky and smooth with no hints of astringency or even beginning bitterness. Nothing. It’s just patiently coping with everything that has been thrown at it and is still coming out on top. The only thing that makes it any sort of rough or prickly is the smoke, and that’s supposed to be there.

There is a sort of tangy flavour to it, though, and not really the fruity sweetness that I’m used to in the regular Lapsang Souchongs. It’s like that note has been replaced by this slightly spicy and tangy note. I think I prefer the fruity sweetness.

I quite like it, although not as much as my regular LSs, but it’s a very nice tea.

Kashyap

I had the misfortune of going to a friends and brought some wonderful oolongs from Naivetea and my Taiwanese Gawian only to discover that they made hot water in an old oxidized pan on the stove…fortunately the tea was fantastic and could overcome the abuse and poor water….makes me appreciate my krups kettle all the more

Angrboda

It’s amazing sometimes what you can really get away with with minimal negative impact on the result. Kinda puts snobbery in perspective, doesn’t it?
But on the other hand I think I’ll continue being a little more snobby than that. There are limits. (And it takes twice as long to make tea without a proper kettle)

Kashyap

I think its less of being snobby and more about caring about what you eat and drink…loving yourself starts by treating yourself to the best of what goes into you…water quality, good tea, quality food should be the standard…strange when to care about yourself that way and people insist your being a snob…or elitist…ah well…

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90
421 tasting notes

As I was cleaning out and reordering my tea cabinet I came across this sample and thought “why not”? I noticed a really nice smokey scent as the the leaves steeped. Similar to Lapsong and yet different at the same time. I get a sweeter smokey scent is how I can best describe this one. The taste is interesting too. There’s a great smokey flavor there, but also a hint of sweet too. But I’m loving it and might need to order more. After all wasn’t that the point of clearing out the tea cabinet? ;)

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec
TeaBrat

This sounds good!

IllBeMother221B

It is I have some in my cart on their site at the moment… :)

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69
6768 tasting notes

Smells smoky but tastes sweet. I’m ok with this one…just not sure what level of likeness yet so I am sure this rating will change….

Jim Marks

That sounds like a good combination: smoky in the nose, sweet on the tongue. Like a good pipe tobacco ;-)

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74
314 tasting notes

First sip…tastes like edamame! A bit briney and a bit sweet.

Next sips.. settles into smooth, slightly smoky, woodsy cocoa with hints of soy sauce.

Super mild—very easy to drink. Not tannic at all.

Another very subtle, easygoing tea. It’s nice, may be best for an afternoon or early evening tea. But for mornings, it looks like I need something with more “kick”.

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 8 min or more

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