white2tea’s Strawberry Lapsang | Tea Review

Over the years, I’ve tried a handful of lapsang souchongs and I generally find them a bit too smoked or tobacco for my liking. However, when I saw the description of this tea, it sounded like a sweet addition!

Description: “This rich and decadent black tea has aromas reminiscent of strawberries and fleshy red fruits.”

Instructions: 1 g of tea per 15 ml of water in small teapot or gaiwan. | Rinse once; steep the 1st steep for 5 sec, then add 5 sec for each additional steep[.] | Too weak? Steep longer | Too strong? Remove leaf  | Black Tea: 95°C 

Review: With spring around the corner, a tea evoking the aromas of strawberries sounded like a lovely treat. I tried this tea with 3, 4, and 5 grams of tea in a 125 milliliters glass teapot.

The dry leaves were long, twisted and a dark chocolate colour. It predominantly smelled smoked and earthy with an underlying fruity note. In the warmed pot, the dry leaves had a fruitier/strawberry smell and was slightly smokey and nutty.

Infusion 1 (5 seconds): After a quick rinse, the liquor was a honey amber colour with little particles at the bottom of the cup and a roasted fruity smell. Taste wise, the tea was smoked, nutty, fruity, and sweet with some dryness at the back of the mouth. When cooled, the liquor was more earthy and a fruit-like sweetness coated the mouth. A strawberry jam flavour was starting to emerge.

Infusion 2 (10 seconds): The liquor was much a darker golden honey colour with a smoked and earthy smell. The taste started off slow, followed by a burst of sweetness from the strawberries and fruity notes. The liquor had syrupy mouthfeel that lingered on the tongue and ended with some dryness at the back of the mouth. When cooled, the liquor had stronger roasted and smoky notes.

Infusion 3 (15 seconds): The dark chocolate brown leaves had unfurled and were made out of mostly full long leaves with some broken leaves and steam and an earthy and smoky smell.

The liquor smelled roasted and like liquorish with a golden yellow hue. The tea was a mixture of roasted, herbal, smoked, and some sweet fruitiness. The end of sip ended with a hint of dryness.

Infusion 4 (20 seconds): The liquor had a brown hue compared to the reddish complexation of the earlier infusions and a smoked smell. The taste was similar to Infusion 3 with earthy notes and a fruity strawberry jam sweetness. The taste was delicate with a fair amount of dryness on the tongue at the end of the sip.

Infusion 5 (25 seconds): The brown liquor had a smoky smell. The flavour was faintly earthy and smoked.

Overall, I enjoyed this tea and the sweeter notes it had. Despite being a lapsang souchong and having roasted/smoked notes, it didn’t have an overwhelming “campfire” taste that some teas have. I tried the tea with a range of leaf quantities to see the range of flavours. It mostly affected the strength of the tea and the astringency. So, I personally enjoyed less leaf.

This would be a nice tea for someone who likes a sweeter black tea, or a lapsang souchong without a dominant smoked taste. I paired it with savoury foods like a vegetarian quiche and there was still a nice amount of flavour from the tea cut through. This would be a good tea in the morning or afternoon (3.5/5 rating).

The question of the post: Have you tried lapsang souchong before?