As long as we’re talking lapsang souchong, can we talk yerba mate? I was given some to try some years ago, and my reaction was the same (“Did you just steep old cigarette butts, or what?!”)
The thing that frustrates me about any tea is the fact that it never tastes like the way it promises to, unless you add sugar.
I was at a tea house the other day and we ordered a Bodum of honeysuckle tea. I was like, “yummy! honeysuckle!” So we brewed it as recommended, and it tasted nasty, but I had the distinct impression that it would be all right and actually taste like some kind of honeysuckle if we put a bit of sugar. However, this was a Serious Teahouse and I had the distinct impression that asking for sugar would result in my being beheaded with a longsword.
It’s any kind of herbal tea, really. Cup of, oh I don’t know, blueberry tea: tastes like water with plant bits. Cup of blueberry tea with some sugar: tastes like blueberries. And yet I’ve had people look at me like I asked if Guernica came in a black velvet version.
I find rooibos absolutely disgusting. Lapsang Souchong I enjoy, but rooibos repulses me utterly.
I actually replied, though, to let Anaptyxis here know that chocolate has very little caffeine in it, even dark, bittersweet, or other highly chocolate-intensive types. It has a small quantity of caffeine and certain related alkyloids, but not enough to notice for most people, I imagine. So don’t feel guilt about it in the future. Except for the whole sugar and fat thing. Hey, it’s got antioxidant phytochemicals in it.
I love Yerba Mate, haven’t had it for while because it’s a bit hard to come by in the country. I ran a conference on Latin American culture for a university I was working at, and we have Yerba Mate tea bags available and I was an instant convert. I think of it as tasting like fresh grass clippings.
Mind you, I love Lapsang as well. It’s my tea of choice in the summer, served black with a squeeze of lemon. In the winter I drink Twining’s Russian Caravan which is black tea mixed with Lapsang. I also love Earl Grey and drink Lady Grey at work (because I prefer Earl Grey with milk and I can’t be bothered remembering to buy some, so I drink Lady Grey which I prefer black).
I also love chai tea, which is black tea with a mixture of spices (cinnamon, cloves, ginger, etc.)
I’m not that fond of herbal teas, although I like mint tea a lot. I think matt_mcl is right that some of the herbal teas could do with sugar or honey, they can taste quite flat without a lift of sweetness.
Lapsang Souchong is the only kind of tea I don’t like. My own personal metaphor is that it tastes like a cup of tea that had a smoked herring soaked in it. I once bought a box to try it; I brewed the cup, took a sip, hated it, took a couple more sips to confirm it wasn’t just a bad first impression, threw out the rest of the cup, and gave the rest of the box to a convicted felon.
Thank you so much, I can hardly wait. The weather up here has been shitty. Snow, melt, snow, melt, snow, melt. Fahhh… make up your mind!! A nice cup of tea will set my mind right. Plus my dad, who also loves the stuff, is eagerly looking forward to it as well.
I discovered a small local tea shop selling three different blends of Lapsang Souchong (ranging from extremely smoky to even smokier) a few years ago. Alas, that was only a few weeks before I left that country for good. I drink very little tea, but Lapsang Souchong is the only tea I really like.
Oh, yum. I simply love Lapsang Souchong. Mind you, the first time I tried it I wondered what the hell it was I was drinking, but I was intrigued. By the time I drank the second cup, I was hooked. It is an acquired taste, but oh what a taste once acquired.
Matt, did you drink it with milk? I personally drink almost every tea with milk (minty stuff I drink plain, or maybe with honey). Just a little milk on the bottom and it’s just a little bit sweeter and more palatable, imho. While black with sugar is not undrinkable, it’s not nearly as pleasant as with milk.
Unfortunately, it can be difficult to get cafes to prepare tea this way here in the US. Last week I completely confounded a girl with my request for two separate cups - one to steep the tea in and one to drink out of. If you add the milk in afterwards, you get a totally different (and inferior) concoction.
When I was in Britain I noticed that this was a common way to prepare tea. I picked it up from my mom; a couple of her best friends are British and I assume she picked it up from them.
Don’t like Lapsang Souchong?
Better not try Lagavulin single malt scotch, then.
It made everyone at our table gag and rush to rinse their mouths out, and someone even made an underbreath comparison to gasoline :eek: . As a Souchong fan, though, I was delighted with Lagavulin and gathered all their glasses to me. They couldn’t understand why I was so entranced with it. Yum yum yum! And I don’t have to share! Mmmmm… smoky.
ETF, I was feeling the love when you slammed Earl Grey, which is absolute swill, but to promote as tea something that is an herb and doesn’t contain caffeine? I shun thee.
to the things in bold: ME TOO! Have you tried wasabi almonds yet? I’m obsessed with those currently.
to the things not in bold, excluding fermented sausage: I’ve GOT to try that.
I enjoy rooibos and Earl Grey both. I also love anise tea, which has garnered me some looks of shock and disgust.
Taking all of the above into account, it seems imperative that I sample Lapsang Souchong. Immediately. Thank you, Straight Dope.
** worchestershire sauce straight out of the bottle** should be in bold, too. Though I must admit to being prissy enough that I pour it into a highball before enjoying.
I drink very little tea, but Lapsang Souchong is the only tea I really like.
Mind you, the first time I tried it I wondered what the hell it was I was drinking, but I was intrigued. By the time I drank the second cup, I was hooked. It is an acquired taste, but oh what a taste once acquired.