Rounding out the teas I sampled during my temporary hiatus from beer is this Lapsang Souchong tea. After my little peat smoked Scotch adventure this past weekend, I decided to keep the smoky theme going and try this smoked tea. Lapsang Souchong is a black tea that is dried over a pinewood fire. I don’t know much about the structure of tea plants, but apparently “Souchong” refers to the less potent (and thus less desirable) leaves of the tea plant. The smoke is an attempt to whip these leaves into shape and make them more complex. This style originated in China, but this particular tea comes from Taiwan (and is supposed to be slightly more smoky than typical Chinese varieties).
Formosa Lapsang Souchong – A pretty golden brown color in the cup, a little bit of sediment from the loose tea. Smells like a campfire, smoke and wood, maybe even a hint of meatiness, but nothing dramatic. While my intention was to match this with the peaty Scotches I was sampling last weekend, I should note that the smoke here is quite distinct – which makes sense, given that they use pine to dry the tea and peat moss for the Scotch. The taste is surprisingly mellow given the smoke. It’s there, but nowhere near as overwhelming as it is in something like an Islay Scotch or Rauchbier. Instead, we get a sorta woody black tea character that suits this well. Mouthfeel is big and robust, again like your typical black tea. Overall, this is an interesting tea, not at all like Scotch, but it works really well on its own.
Tea Nerd Details: 1 tsp for 8 ounce cup, steeped for 5 minutes at 212°.
Beer Nerd Musings: I’ve mentioned that tea is sometimes used in making beer, and Lapsang Souchong seems to be a mildly popular variety. I’ve not had any, but I certainly wouldn’t mind trying the Italian Baladin X-Fumé or Kentucky’s Against the Grain Bo & Luke (both of these are variants on a base beer as well, so there’d be other treatments as well). From my admittedly limited sample, I’d think this would be a nice, mellow alternative to big helpings of smoked malt. Rauchbiers and the link sometimes make me wonder who put their cigar out in my beer, but I get the impression that a beer made with Lapsang Souchong would provide a more mellow smoky character.
So this wraps up my 40ish day whirlwind tour of exotic beverages. My triumphant return to beer starts this weekend, so beer blogging will resume as normal next week. I’m breaking out a couple of wales for the weekend, so stay tuned!
I love this stuff in cold weather. It smells like a pine campfire and just warms me right up.
My closest Scotch comparison is to Teacher’s, a blend based on a peated Highland, so no briny sea notes. But yeah, the Scotch comparison ends with “both are smoky,”
I can see this being a great cold weather tea. It’s just starting to warm up here, but I really like the distinct smokiness. It’s not as intense as most smoked beers, and as you say, the Islay Scotch comparison ends at “both are smoky”… I like the mellow, but robust taste. It works.