BS: Lapsang Souchong

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong
From: DMcG
Date: 30 May 02 - 08:16 AM

My flatmate used to refer to Lapsang Souchong as 'Smoky Bacon Flavour'. If you haven't tasted it yet, its not a bad description.

I normally have a small collection of teas to choose from - yes, Taylors Yorkshire is a good one - but we usually end up drinking industrial waste tea as my wife normally drinks four pots per day (each of up to six cups depending who is in the house that day)

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong
From: cetmst
Date: 30 May 02 - 09:54 AM

I drink my coffee black and unsweetened; Laphroaig is my Scotch and the only tea I drink is Lapsang Souchong, all may be symptoms of my taste buds becoming elderly. Iced tea, the regional drink of the American south I do without. My favorite iced tea story concerns a meal in an Italian restaurant, no less, in San Antonio where I decided to top off a meal with a glass of Asti. As our table conversation progressed I became aware that the waitress had put at my elbow a glass of - you guessed it - Texans speak a different language.

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong
From: cetmst
Date: 30 May 02 - 09:58 AM

One of the characters in James Michener's "Centennial" holes up in a cave in Colorado for the winter, carefully rationing his little bag of Lapsang Souchong. I'm sure it's what got him through.

Subject: Lyr ADD: The Billy of Tea
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 30 May 02 - 12:03 PM

To tag as LyrAdd for the DT harvestors:

In this thread, Bob Bolton posts "the original" THE BILLY OF TEA identifying the tune as Bonny Dundee

Later post, also by Bob Bolton, of the 1970s version by The Bushwackers of THE BILLY OF TEA -1970s
. This post also includes Lyr for "Enda Kenny's Song EARL GREY."
Comment on tune variants at BILLY OF TEA - Alt Tune may be useful for annotation.

John

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong
From: EBarnacle1
Date: 30 May 02 - 04:53 PM

Tea is wonderful stuff. Are there any onthers out there who believe that washing the cup with soap injures the taste?

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong
From: Helen
Date: 01 Jun 02 - 03:08 AM

EBarnacle,

I haven't heard about washing the cup with soap, although I never wash the teapot with soap.

I could mention the belief that washing beer glasses with soap ruins the fizz but then we'd have serious thread creep.

Helen

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong
From: GUEST,Greyeyes
Date: 01 Jun 02 - 06:40 AM

Darjeeling is known as the champagne of teas. I often start the day with a brew of 2 parts Darjeeling and 1 part Lapsang Souchong. In days of yore when the tea caddy was one of the most important items in rich houses, with the key held only by the housekeeper, the caddy often had 2 compartments; one for china tea, one for indian. Guests were offered either, or a blend of the 2.

The debate about milk first or tea first has covered most ideas I've heard; one theory about pouring the tea in first was that posh people did it to show off how good the quality of their fine bone china was. Although thin enough to see through, if you could pour boiling tea straight into it without the cup cracking it proved your crockery was highly superior. People who put the milk in first were almost admitting that their cups were cheap. The flavour of the scalded milk seems a good reason to put the milk in first now people are not so bothered about showing off the quality of their cups. As Helen comments it definitely does affect the flavour. I too sometimes scald the milk before adding very strong coffee, about 1/2 & 1/2. It comes out like a cappuccino without the froth (although I usually take it black).

As to water, I live in a very hard water area and it makes disgusting tea. Until I moved to Devon for a couple of years and was able to drink the nectar that resulted from brewing tea with soft Dartmoor water I don't think I had ever tasted a decent cuppa. I now use a filter jug and only ever boil a kettle with filtered water. Not only does this mean I can make great tea, but the kettle no longer furs up with limescale. The aforementioned Taylors of Harrogate, makers of Yorkshire tea, now produce a hard water tea, I was given a box recently but haven't tried it; I'm reluctant to risk the limescale build up that results from even a couple of pots boiled with tap water.

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong
From: mcpiper
Date: 01 Jun 02 - 07:26 AM

Ahhh tea. Is there a more perfect drink known to mankind. I never knew how much of a love affair I had with tea until I couldn't get any. I was in Romania a couple of years ago, doing a wee bit of business at a place called Roman up near the Ukraine border. Asked for tea, they didn't have any at the hotel. Tried to get some at a couple of little shop things, no luck. I was gutted. Had to settle for blackberry tea or some other herb tea, coffee, NEVER.
I have tea no milk no sugar, however it comes hot or not so hot as long as it's tea. Favourite, however has to be Assam, a bit hard to get, but a real treat. My father used to have his tea no milk, two sugars, never coffee. He reckoned coffe to be the devils brew. His neighbour was diagnosed with cancer, and went the alternative way for reatment. One of the things was coffee enemas. Dad reckoned they found a use for the bloody stuff at last.
Is there a tea site where we can give the stuff it's due reverence?

Great thread, great topic, and I agree with everyone so far.
Cheers, mcpiper.

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong
From: Deda
Date: 01 Jun 02 - 07:13 PM

I adore teas of all kinds. I'm overly sensitive to caffeine so I have to ration myself, but in my cupboard I have the following: Lapsang suchong, loose leaf; "pitta tea" bags (an ayervedic tea, no caffeine); peppermint, both home-grown loose and in bags; jasmine (caffeinated, quite lovely); KavaKava (helps get sleepy); Sleepytime (chamomile, mostly); licorice tea; ginger tea; generic decaf black tea; "Goodtime" tea, which is a poor imitation of Chai; English Breakfast loose leaf -- and about 20 or 30 others. I got hooked on teas when, after living mostly on coffee and cigarettes throughout my 20s and into my 30s, my gut just gave up and couldn't take the abuse anymore. I love and miss coffee but it goes through me like Drain-O. Teas have wonderful properties and can be very healing; they can stimulate or relax or comfort or enliven, heat one up or cool one down. Thanks, 'catters. What a great group!

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong
From: Haruo
Date: 02 Jun 02 - 02:16 AM

I just saw this thread for the first time, and haven't read it all yet, but must say I do like lapsang souchong. I also like sassafras root tea (though I've been told it's carcinogenic or something), and generally ocha is the only thing I'll drink when eating sushi (which is my absolute favorite thing to eat) though I used to put away a lot of saké in that context.

My maternal grandmother was a dedicated imbiber of Red Rose teabag tea. Wouldn't touch Lipton's (which was most of the tea available in Seattle in those days). I remember when Constant Comment became all the rage. Dates me, enit? When I was in high school I used to drink glass after glass of Lipton's powdered iced tea mix with saccharin added. I have pretty much recovered from that addiction.

My coffee of choice is Bargreen's Kenya Select, or if I'm flush Caffè Appasionato's Celebes varietal. I used to really like Ethiopian Yergacheff, but haven't seen it for awhile.

I also love spruce beer, anent which mayhap I should start a new thread.

Liland

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong
From: Terry K
Date: 02 Jun 02 - 03:04 AM

As a quintessential Englishman, I am not afflicted by the love of all things Irish that seems to personify the average folkie, but I have recently discovered "Irish Morning" tea and it is just the most refreshing tea I have ever drunk.

It's by Jackson's of Piccadilly (which might invoke images of a quaint tea-shop in London's West End, but is probably produced in a chemical plant in Doncaster) and Tesco have it.

Cheers, Terry

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 02 Jun 02 - 07:54 AM

G'day Terry K,

A good strong brew of "Irish Breakfast Tea" (Twinings is very nice ... but so are a number at half the price!) is just the thing to get the 'significant other' moving these cooling mornings of (very early) Antipodean winter. English Breakfast comes in a close second ... and was favourite morning brew of Patricia's (SO's) grandmother, who lived to be Australia's person, before her death a few days short of 108!

Regards,

Bob Bolton

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong
From: Terry K
Date: 02 Jun 02 - 03:33 PM

G'day Bob.

I go to Oz every year - how come I didn't bump into you, it's not a very big place is it? I guess you must be in the southern third if the mornings are cooling already!

cheers, Terry

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 02 Jun 02 - 11:36 PM

G'day Terry,

They aren't that cool by anyone else's standards ... it's Patricia - too long removed from her native Tasmania that is feeling the cold. I walk 6 km home from work, in the centre of Sydney ... and breeze into the house with shirtsleeves rolled up, shirt unbuttoned ... and hanging out of the trousers - and Patricia is sitting by the heater with 2 layers of jumpers! (OK - I do cool down rapidly when I stop walking ...)

Anyway, since I live in Sydney, so you do have 3,999,999 others to confuse with me (but not at the average folk venue). Do you get to any folk music when you make these annual Antipodean arivals? There are a fair few Sydney region 'Catters ... 6 or 7 that come to mind without straining the grey matter.

Regards,

Bob Bolton

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong
From: Helen
Date: 03 Jun 02 - 02:07 AM

Lapsang Souchong, Tea Part TWO

This thread is now over 110 posts long, so it's time for a new one. I waited until I could gauge whether there was enough interest to keep going.

Please post to the new thread. I've provided a blicky there to refer back to this one.

Helen

Subject: RE: BS: Lapsang Souchong
From: Helen
Date: 31 Dec 02 - 07:54 PM

refresh - but please post to part 2 (see blue clicky in my previous post)