BS: Lapsang Souchong, Tea part TWO

Subject: Lapsang Souchong, Tea part TWO
From: Helen
Date: 03 Jun 02 - 02:03 AM

I waited to see if there was enough discussion to start a new thread. The first one is getting quite long so here is PART TWO.

Lapsang Souchong

Terry, I'm 100 miles north of Sydney, Oz and the breezes from Antarctica this week and a couple of weeks ago have meant that our usually glorious autumn weather, which is much like Spring weather, has turned wintry a lot earlier than usual.

Most years the winter doesn't hit until August, or even September, the first month of Spring. Pretty funny watching visitors to our fair shores telling everyone we don't get winter to speak of and then Mother Nature grins mischievously and sends it along in Spring instead.

Helen

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong, Tea part TWO
From: EBarnacle1
Date: 03 Jun 02 - 02:47 PM

'Tis truly a glorious subject. I am one of those who believe that, whatever the original reason, milk and its related ilk are for those who do not like the taste of tea. If you like the taste of milk, drink milk. If you like tea, drink tea. Besides, milk ruins the taste of any decent rum.

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong, Tea part TWO
From: mousethief
Date: 03 Jun 02 - 07:26 PM

Similarly:

Gravy is for those who don't like the taste of potatoes. If you like potatoes, eat potatoes. If you like gravy, eat gravy.

Butter is for those who don't like the taste of bread. If you like bread, eat bread. If you like butter, eat butter.

Salt is for those who don't like the taste of food. If you like food, eat food. If you like salt, eat salt.

PS that smoked tea stuff is NASTY.

Alex

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong, Tea part TWO
From: CarolC
Date: 03 Jun 02 - 07:38 PM

Oh man, Alex. I've been doing it all wrong!

;-)

I like Lapsang Souchong, but I wouldn't drink it recreationally. I prefer to keep it for special. I love Earl Grey. I think the oil of bergamot that gives it its delicate flowery fragrance is lovely.

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong, Tea part TWO
From: Helen
Date: 03 Jun 02 - 07:38 PM

Hi Alex,

When I told someone - in a long-ago lunchtime conversation about favourite sandwich toppings - that I love peanut butter with jam, peanut butter with tomato, peanut butter with honey, peanut butter with lettuce (favourite, have to try it to know what it is like, can't just imagine it!), she said "Don't you like peanut butter?"

My response: Huh? That doesn't make sense.

Her response: Well you keep trying to cover up the taste with other things.

She didn't get it when I tried to explain about the synergistic combination of flavours - the whole is more than the sum of its parts.

So, in answer to you, EBarnacle: I like a little milk in most teas, although some are better without milk. I find that a little milk brings out the flavour more, in most cases. Too much would mask it, and also make it too cold. The hotter the better. If I have no milk available and have to drink most types of my favourite teas without milk I often find that I can't taste it very much. I don't like pots of tar (Lapsang Souchong - grin) or most very strong flavoured teas. I like the more subtle flavoured teas.

Each to her/his own taste, too, of course.

Helen

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong, Tea part TWO
From: Haruo
Date: 03 Jun 02 - 09:57 PM

I dropped by Market Spice today and decided (with this thread in mind) to check the prices. I found that most of the "normal" teas (Darjeelings, Earl Greys, etc., etc.) were in the range of $14.95 a pound (that's €35,08 a kilo for the rest of you), but Lapsang Souchong was $24.95/lb. Sassafras bark (which I earlier misidentified as sassafras root) is $36/lb (Š84,44/kg). And the priciest tea I saw was something called "Dragon Phoenix" (looked like a greenish Chinese) at $95.95/lb. (€225,10/kg). My experience suggests that Market Spice's teas are usually better than other readily accessible vendors' that go by the same varietal names, but not so much better as to fully justify the inflated prices. What do you guys pay?

Liland

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong, Tea part TWO
From: wysiwyg
Date: 04 Jun 02 - 01:30 AM

Oh Helen, you must try PB on hot dogs, it makes it taste like great Thai food, really! With raw onions. The salt in the PB and the salt in the dog cancel each other out, no lie, it's great!

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong, Tea part TWO
From: mousethief
Date: 04 Jun 02 - 01:56 AM

Yes, CarolC, I agree -- Earl Grey is one of the most wonderful teas. Very subtle. Doesn't take milk well. Likes a dab of honey.

Lately my wife and I have found ourselves brewing very, very strong tea (we have an Irish Breakfast blend we are fond of; comes in a yellow box; forget the name) and mixing it with half and half. A splendid taste combination.

Alex

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong, Tea part TWO
From: lady penelope
Date: 04 Jun 02 - 06:05 PM

Tea with no milk - Orange pekoe (though I find it perfectly acceptable with ) Keemun and Jasmin.

Teas flavoured with oils should be buried somewhere.

Fruit teas I like when I have a cold or have simply gone off dairy, lemon and ginger is my favourite ( nice bite ).

But other than that it has to be PG tips, scolding hot, lightly brewed with about a teaspoon of milk. Nothing to beat it.

I used to know someone for whom you made tea for by pouring out half a cup of boiling water, dunking the tea bag in it and then filling the rest of the cup with milk!!! Blech. So long as I didn't have to drink it, it was fine by me.

TTFN M'Lady P.

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong, Tea part TWO
From: EBarnacle1
Date: 05 Jun 02 - 01:29 PM

Dragon Well is what Oolong translates to. Some of the top quality Oolongs go for even more than that. When you consider how little you use per cup, the cost is not at all painful. The issue about strong, hearty teas is moot. When you come off the water on a cold, nasty day (or the ski trail) you want something that will grab you by your bootstraps, dry you off and set you up. Teas like Russian Caravan and Lapsang do that for you. A gentler tea is for when you are already relaxed or are just starting the day. By the same token, Lapsang would not really go well in an office environment. I would be the same as when, in the old days [OK, so I'm making geezer sounds] I use to smoke my pipe in the office. As I did not smoke any of those cute, cherry or vanilla tobaccos, there were those who found the aroma overpowering. Someone referred to Michener's book, "Centennial," where one of the characters fell in love with Lapsang. Consider how his life matched what I just described as the right time to dink Lapsang and you will agree that context is everything.

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong, Tea part TWO
From: mousethief
Date: 05 Jun 02 - 01:46 PM

Yes, but the real question is: do you eat gravy on your potatoes?

Alex

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong, Tea part TWO
From: Haruo
Date: 05 Jun 02 - 01:58 PM

Potatoes stretch the gravy. But I prefer biscuits or stuffing. ;-)

BTW, what complements tripe?

Liland

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong, Tea part TWO
From: mousethief
Date: 05 Jun 02 - 02:05 PM

The real question there, my Esperanto-speaking friend, is why would anything WANT to complement tripe?

However I hear that, properly treated, it does make a nearly-indestructable sole for overshoes.

Alex

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong, Tea part TWO
From: lady penelope
Date: 05 Jun 02 - 02:37 PM

"BTW, what complements tripe?".......A bin.

And those 'flavoured' tobaccos with vanilla or black cherry make me want to heave. Normal pipe tobacco smells much better. Comfrey smoked in a pipe smells nice too. I don't smoke by the way, never have done.

Hearty teas, is that like beef tea? Which used to be a common beverage in Britain, honest! I still have to actually have some, though.

Cor, it's tipping it down out there, I'm off to get some tea! : )

TTFN M'Lady P.

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong, Tea part TWO
From: mousethief
Date: 05 Jun 02 - 02:54 PM

Is there a difference between beef tea and beef broth or bouillion?

Alex

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong, Tea part TWO
From: lady penelope
Date: 05 Jun 02 - 03:40 PM

I dunno, calling all fonts of useless knowledge.......... if no one round here knows, nobody will!

TTFN M'Lady P.

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong, Tea part TWO
From: EBarnacle1
Date: 05 Jun 02 - 04:31 PM

Try Bovril. I suspect that Beef Tea is a somewhat nationalistic English name for beef bouillon. Slug down Billy o'tae.

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong, Tea part TWO
From: Haruo
Date: 05 Jun 02 - 06:36 PM

Seems to me in my childhood the brandname for beef bouillon was "Steero", which is uncomfortably close to "Sterno", enit?

As far as complementing tripe, Alex, I don't know whether there's a good reason to want to. I am planning to have dinner some Friday night soon at the Polish Home Association, the closest thing Seattle has to a Polish restaurant, and I am reliably informed that their signature dish is Warsaw Tripe. I don't recall ever having had tripe per se before (though there's one varietal soup in the Campbell's™ line, I think it's their Scotch Broth, that has tripe in it; or is it Pepper Pot?), and since I don't drink beer (Polish or otherwise) I'm not sure what to order to wash it down or otherwise enhance its palatability.

If it turns out to be as delectable as the Polish Homeboys claim, maybe I'll by some at the PPM (Don & Joe's Meats, same place I get my lamb cheeks) and give it a go.

Liland

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong, Tea part TWO
From: mousethief
Date: 05 Jun 02 - 06:58 PM

Remember that some Norwegians actually LIKE lutefisk. This doesn't make it fit for human consumption, however.

I didn't know Seattle had anything even within shouting distance of a Polish restaurant. There used to be a Russian place up on Cap Hill just off Broadway, across the street from the Harvard Exit. But that was yeeeeears ago.

Alex

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong, Tea part TWO
From: Haruo
Date: 06 Jun 02 - 12:32 AM

It seems to me we are drifting unconscionably far afield from Lapsang Souchong or even beef bouillon, Alex. But perhaps thread drift is less sinful in BS threads? Anyhow, yes, Seattle does apparently have something resembling a serious Polish restaurant, albeit only on Fridays: U Pavarottiego. The Seattle Esperanto Society was hoping to honor our roots by holding our Zamenhof's Birthday Banquet in a Polish restaurant this year, but discreet inquiries confirmed that this is all there is, and our Banquet is not on a Friday. So I'll have to go as a civilian. But the menu has a certain allure, not the smallest part of which is the tripe.

Liland

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong, Tea part TWO
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Jun 02 - 01:43 AM

My father used to go to the Market Spice shop and pick up tea to mail to me down here in Texas. It's still the best source of many teas and spices. Somehow he got his wires crossed and send me two pounds of Lapsang Souchong. Anyone want some Lapsang Souchong? I still have about 31 ounces of it left. ;-) . It seems to never lose it's smell, and it smells like roofing tar. I have a neighbor who drinks it about once a week in the winter, but at this rate, we'll be smelling this tea for the rest of our natural lives.

Market Spice used to be called the Specialty Spice shop, but so many people referred to it by it's signature tea that they changed the name. I get my whole cardamom there, for cardamom rolls and julekake.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong, Tea part TWO
From: Terry K
Date: 06 Jun 02 - 02:34 AM

That reminds me of time spent years ago in sunny Libya. A Lebanese retaurant in Tripoli once served me an infusion made from cardamoms - the maitre d' called it coffee, but it wasn't. I don't know if there was something else in it, but I ended up with a quite pleasant, woozy-headed feeling. Never came across it since.

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong, Tea part TWO
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Jun 02 - 10:39 AM

I wonder if I could put some of this tea in a marinade for my salmon? Instead of slaving over a hot smoker in the back yard, just bake it after it's soaked in the lapsang for a while.

I have a salmon in the freezer; when I'm ready to smoke it I'll have to take a tiny sacrificial section of it and test this theory. (Frozen salmon is marginal for smoking, but beggars can't always be choosers in land-locked cities. Fresh is always best!)

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong, Tea part TWO
From: Haruo
Date: 06 Jun 02 - 11:24 AM

Well, if you really want to get rid of it, I'll take it (L B Ross, 204 N 39th St, Seattle 98103), Stilly. It is my favorite tea in many ways, and you're right, it takes forever to lose its savor. The fresh Copper River catch just came in a week ago, so if you hurry I can test your idea on fresh and let you know... ;-)

Liland

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong, Tea part TWO
From: EBarnacle1
Date: 06 Jun 02 - 12:06 PM

If there is Copper River available, please send a pound or two my way. I just had some smoked and it was a touch of heaven.

Cardomom is a wonderful way to save a marginal tea. Just put a few seeds in the cup just before you add the hot water. That seems to be the way most of the Thai restaurants in Brooklyn do it.

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong, Tea part TWO
From: mousethief
Date: 06 Jun 02 - 12:09 PM

The mind recoils from the thought of Thai restaurants in Brooklyn.

Alex

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong, Tea part TWO
From: EBarnacle1
Date: 06 Jun 02 - 04:55 PM

Try it Alex, you might like it. We have a very large population of all sorts of minorities in the Borough of Churches. We ain't all frum Canahsi.

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong, Tea part TWO
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Jun 02 - 05:43 PM

Thread creep. . . There are some wonderful restaurants in Brooklyn. My favorite middle eastern one is there, in the downtown area (get out of the subway at DeKalb). And there's an Italian one on King's Highway (where the F train stops) that is heavenly.

Liland, this is one heckuva lot of tea. I'll package up some of it and send it along, but you'd be stuck with huge volumes otherwise. Did you know John Dwyer? He's the culprit who started this. And I'd test this theory on the cheaper salmon, not the good stuff.

Copper River salmon--I'll have to run over to Whole [Paycheck] Foods here in Arlington, Texas, and see if they've got it in yet. It's horribly expensive, but absolutely wonderful. When my mother was dying a few years ago the Copper River salmon came in, and that's the last specific request for a meal that she made, just a little piece of salmon. You can bet I went post-haste to get some for her. So we have a "Grandma Memorial Meal" once a year here, with Copper River salmon and some of her other favorites.

Maggie

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong, Tea part TWO
From: mousethief
Date: 07 Jun 02 - 01:25 AM

I'd have to go to New York first, which I haven't the resources at the present time to do. Someday....

Alex

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong, Tea part TWO
From: Haruo
Date: 25 Jun 02 - 12:27 AM

I'm sitting here savoring my first pot of Lapsang Souchong in at least a year. Thanks, Maggie!

Liland

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong, Tea part TWO
From: Wilfried Schaum
Date: 25 Jun 02 - 03:37 AM

Terry K - Cardamom is a very fine ingredient of coffee prepared orientwise. It is an absolute must; I use a few pinches of ground c. for a filling of about 6 fanagin (the small cups). It shouldn't be used too lavishly, only to support the taste of the original stuff instead of suppressing it what seems to have been the case with you.

Liland - or salve Lelans - since I tried it in an Algerian soup tripe doesn't rank high in my esteem, but: de gushtibus non esht dishputandum (you mushtn't dishcussh tashte), as the Suevian philosopher says.
When looking for food and recipes, you should visit Mrs Mimi Hiller, with one of the earliest and best collections of recipes in the web. Go to her search page and type "tripe". It may help you with further recherches. Normally I dont support culinary aberrations, but since you're a Latiner ...

Wilfried

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong, Tea part TWO
From: Wilfried Schaum
Date: 25 Jun 02 - 03:37 AM

Terry K - Cardamom is a very fine ingredient of coffee prepared orientwise. It is an absolute must; I use a few pinches of ground c. for a filling of about 6 fanagin (the small cups). It shouldn't be used too lavishly, only to support the taste of the original stuff instead of suppressing it what seems to have been the case with you.

Liland - or salve Lelans - since I tried it in an Algerian soup tripe doesn't rank high in my esteem, but: de gushtibus non esht dishputandum (you mushtn't dishcussh tashte), as the Suevian philosopher says.
When looking for food and recipes, you should visit Mrs Mimi Hiller, with one of the earliest and best collections of recipes in the web. Go to her search page and type "tripe". It may help you with further recherches. Normally I dont support culinary aberrations, but since you're a Latiner ...

Wilfried

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong, Tea part TWO
From: Les from Hull
Date: 25 Jun 02 - 02:00 PM

Hm, tea.

My partner, Maggie and I, drink our tea with slices of ginger in it. That's strong tea (Yorkshire Tea, as discussed in part 1), milk, no sugar and three or four slices of ginger root. It's got so we can't enjoy tea any other way!

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong, Tea part TWO
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Jun 02 - 01:02 AM

Different Maggie! This one wouldn't place milk anywhere near her tea! And you're welcome, Liland. I am pleased to find a good home for it.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong, Tea part TWO
From: EBarnacle1
Date: 26 Jun 02 - 11:42 AM

As mentioned, just came off the water and had some Lapsang as a restorative. Wonderful stuff!