Lapsang Souchoung is nasty… like snorting charcoal chicken…
but if you really want some Emperor, your closest supplier of all things tea-related is on Broadway at Granville in Vancouver, a store called T, and their website is tealeaves.com
My wife special orders their Imperial Earl Grey (now that’s a fine brew, even if I prefer Ti Kuan Yin Oolong).
Hmmm… I have to agree; Lapsang Souchong is nasty; I didn’t even like it when I was a smoker. Earl grey, on the other hand, when properly accompanied by an overly-sweet sticky cake or bun, is divine. Takes all sorts, I suppose.
Hey! What did I do this time?!
<focuses>
Oh. Right.
I’ve never had Lapsang Souchoung but I’d be willing to try it. That and Earl Grey with an overly-sweet sticky bun (Or a particularly fluffy chocolate bun)
I love Lapsang Souchong, but IMO it is something to be appreciated in moderation, made weak, and sipped from a small cup - treat it like a single malt or an espresso coffee.
I wish I’d known there were people who liked this tea. As a serious tea-drinker who’s always looking for new things to try, I bought a small box of Twining’s Lapsang Souchong a couple of years ago. My reaction to the first cup was: “If I scraped some gunk off the floor of the fireplace and put it into boiling water, it would would taste just like this.”
I didn’t want the rest of the box after that but, not wanting it to go to waste, I put it in the common kitchen area at work, so that anyone who wanted it could just take it. Those people are scavengers; if you left something unmarked in the kitchen area, it would normally be gone in a day or two. This wasn’t. The box of Lapsang Souchong sat untouched for months, until we finally threw it out when we moved to our new offices last summer.
Had I known that there were needy Lapsang-Souchong-drinking Dopers out there, I could have sent it to somebody somewhere who actually liked this stuff.
Lapsong Souchong is yummy! I got hooked on it when I was in high school and have loved it ever since. I also adore Earl Grey (the “disgusting perfumey” aroma comes the oil of bergamot, a fruit of the citrus family). One tea that I really like I found in Kyoto in the row of shops on the road up to Kiyomizu-dera; it has a blue-green appearance and is made from herbs–but I don’t remember the name and thus can’t find it here in the States.
If the OP doesn’t like Lapsang, I recommend he not drink it.
Ahhhh… Nothing like a debate over a good cup of tea to ignite the passions of partisanship, eh?
Uvula Donor, thank you! Email on its way.
How many of you have tried South African rooibos herb tea? The brand I’ve tried is Kalahari Red Tea, and it is scrumptious! Very high in antioxidants, no caffeine, a rich, sweet, snooth flavor… what’s not to like?
I love Lapsang Souchong; it’s probably my favorite tea. My wife hates it.
More for me! 
–Cliffy
When I first tried this tea years ago I found it ghastly. Of course, the first time I tried marmite it was ghastly, too.
Likewise Earl Grey, which now satisfies my cravings for slightly nasty-tasting spicy milky tea. I would be happy for LP to take its place. So on the recommendation of my esteemed Doper friends, I will give it another shot.
I would, however, really appreciate some of Michener’s insight into its delights. Can anyone post a link/brief summary of his intriguing description of it?
ETF: mmm … rooibos … ::drool:: … a tea that tastes like dirt and tree bark ! What could be better?
for some reason, I’m craving a cup of tea …
BLEEECH! Tried it once, and gave away what was left. Vile. OTOH I like Lapsang Souchong.
Kel Varnsen - Latex Division…for a more subtle tea, try Pai Mu Tan (my favorite).
I like Lapsang Souchong, but I think it’s better with food. It’s especially nice with strong cheeses or a big greasy breakfast with the works.
I was looking at their site last night, although I’m not entirly sure why I didn’t order from them. At any rate, next time that I am down south, I will have to go and check them out.
And zoogirl Safeway? Hah! This town has four Save on Foods, One Canadian Superstore, a Costco, and a Shoppers Wholesale, but no Safeway, much to my disgust. We used to have one, but it closed and became a Princes Auto. I wish we had one though. Their sub sandwiches were amazing, especially the lumberjack sub. I could buy one of them and have food for at least two days. Big as my head, it was, and for under $10.00.
The local grocery stores do carry twinnings, but no lapsang. And I love the twinnings lapsang. I used to drink it all the time as a kid when I went camping with my Dad.
I don’t think Republic of Tea makes a gunpowder tea. They do have a mint tea that is made with gunpowder tea, but no plain gunpowder as far as I know.
Is this similar to what the character Precious Ramotswe drinks regularly in the #1 Ladies Detective Agency series of books by Alexander McCall Smith? The stories are set in Botswana and she is forever sitting down to have a mug of sweet bush tea. Sounds delicious!
I love rooibos and particularly one flavored with vanilla that a diner near me brews. All the good stuff and no caffeine, which I swore off many moons ago. Except for chocolate!
Never tried the tea of the OP, though. “Pork flavored tea” sounds, well, intriguing to say the least!
Hm, i love vegemite and marmite, iffy on promite. hate fish sauce and habanero anything, birch syrup as a homemade soda water soda is good, dont really like worchestershire sauce straight from the bottle, but i have one brand of soy sauce that I like from the bottle, wasabi peas are the bomb=) and which kind of pickled lemons? I like the morrocan ones made by cutting lemons in quarters and layering with salt and letting ‘ferment’ fr a month or so.
Are we related?
I love Lapsang Souchong tea. I first tried it when I had a bad cold on the suggestion of a shopowner. It is really wonderful to be able to taste something when you have a cold.
I have been addicted to it ever since.
I love virtually all real tea, but don’t like hardly any herb teas, especially anything with chamomile in it.
That’s probalby honeybush tea, which is from a different plant (Cyclopia Intermedia) from rooibos (Aspalathus). Kinda similar in flavor, though.
The moroccan kind. I have half a jar in the fridge. I love them with with Wiener Backhun: Chicken pounded flat, breaded and served over noodles with capers and lemon peel, with a caper-lemon sauce.
You’ll enjoy it-- they’ll hand you a sampler cup when you walk in the door, and if you want to sit down and have high tea, you can.