This is not the tea for me and was a rather unpleasant experience. The smoke flavor is overwhelming to the extreme. It’s flavor continues to haunt my cup despite touching it quite briefly before I threw it all away.

I love peaty whiskey and smokey teas. However, there's just something about this one that doesn't do it for me. I've tried brewing it a few times, hoping it just needed to grow on me. I'm thinking I'll try giving it at least one full brew and pour off and see if that helps.

The last lapsang I purchased was an enormous 1 lb commodity bag of solstice brand lapsang, which I haven’t made a dent in and have been gifting away to non cha ren friends. Wanting to try a premium grade, this tea fits in nicely to my tea repertoire. Much more balanced, mellower but with a very pleasant, clean smokey aroma and taste. Even with a strong infusion, the smoke aroma is stronger than the taste. The flavor profile is more whiskey than campfire.

First, I will say that for the price, this is a fine tea. I brewed it a few different sessions to see what I could get out of it. Final session was 3g/100ml/100C, starting at 25 seconds, then 45, 60, 70. Dry leaf look: small leaves, dark, a fair number of stems Dry leaf smell (hot): Bbq, talcum, sweet, very smoky Wet leaf smell: Campfire, bandaid/talcum, bbq 1st infusion: Clear orange liquor, light mouthfeel, bbq aroma, taste is campfire, toasted corn, lingering bbq finish on the sides of the tongue 2nd infusion: Light campfire taste, talcum, corn. Mouthfeel is a bit thicker. Sweet bbq finish 3rd infusion: More floral aroma in the pitcher, but still bbq in the cup. Taste is more floral, campfire, with a flash of bitterness in the center of the tongue that is gone quickly. Wet leaves now smell very much like the 4th or 5th infusion of ripe puerh or qian liang. Final infusion: Color is fading, still bbq and floral aroma, taste is corn with slight bitterness again. Pretty sure the tea would not yield another worthy infusion. Bottom line for me: A decent tea for the low $/g, yields 3 good infusions, and if I were budget-constrained, I’d buy it again. Compared to other (more expensive) smoked lapsang souchong I’ve had, this tea is lighter of flavor and staying power and is much less interesting for the nose and tongue. I would probably buy it again if I were brewing western style, looking for 1 or 2 strong cups, but I brew gongfu mainly and like teas with more complex and robust flavor and that will last longer.

The Black Gold tea is one of my favorites. It has a subtle sweetness that doesn't require honey to enjoy. I would not suggest drinking it chilled, but while I was sick it was quite refreshing when warm.