Solstice Lapsang Souchong Loose Leaf Tea (12 ounces), Traditional Chinese Pine-Smoked Black Tea Leaves Makes 130+ Cups of Tea

Let me start with this- you're either going to love it, or you're going to hate it. I personally like the smell of wood smoke and smoked foods. If you sharkey tastes you will probably enjoy this. When you open the bag the scent is clearly of wood smoke. In fact the smoke scent overpowers the tea scent. To be clear this isn't the smell of hickory or mesquite that you might be used to. It is the scent of a campfire the next morning after it has burnt out. I suspect that whether or not you're someone who has had fond memories of camping or sitting around a firepit (or fireplace) will affect how much you like this tea. They say scent is a trigger for memories and this tea is an example. The scent of this tea will fill a room. It's not overpowering, but you will definitely notice it. As far as taste goes it will depend on how long you step the tea. I use 1 teaspoon for 2 cups of water and let it steep for 15 minutes. This produces a dark tea with a strong smoky scent. These is definitely a bitterness to the tea that comes from the smoke. You will want to experiment with how long to step it because 15 minutes will be way to long for you. The taste is predominantly smokey up front with the tea flavor slowly coming though. The flavor lingers for quite a while. In conclusion for me personally this is a very enjoyable tea, but it won't be for everyone. Take the caveats into consideration. I wrote with the hope of informing you of what to expect from this unusual tea. If you found my review helpful I would be grateful if you take just a moment to click that helpful button. Have a great day.

I am about 5 months out from purchase and nearing the bottom of my first bag. I have found the tea to be a good example of lapsang souchang. It is smoky but I still get different levels of the tea's floral notes. I was about to re-order and noticed some of the negative reviews about "scented" meaning that it is not truly smoked. One reviewer stated that there must be additives. Instead of wondering or letting the comments affect my next purchase, I reached out to the company with these questions and this was there response,"Our Lapsang Souchong does not contain any additives. It is smoked over pine wood naturally which produces the smoky flavor. The flavor can vary however for each shipment that we receive due to the age of the pine wood that was used at the tea plantation. This can sometimes result in a stronger, bolder flavor, and sometimes a smoother, more subtle flavor. Additionally, due to its distinct flavor and taste, this tea is naturally a polarizing tea for each persons flavor palette." I would agree with this statement. When buying in bulk, taste can vary substantially. This is not a single barrel scotch whiskey. I find each merchant to be somewhat consistent but not always the same. This is on the smokier end but I would recommend it for anyone who is a fan of bolder teas. But I also like Islay whiskies, so be prepared.

The concept sounds intriguing - pine-smoked lapsang souchong, but for me, the theory doesn't quite work in its implementation. The smokiness you expect in a lapsang souchong is nicely balanced, not too strong, nor too weak, but there's a decidedly "piney" resinous taste, as well, that, while fine in a Greek retsina wine, is a bit overpowering in a tea. I thought the flavor sounded very good, but it simply doesn't suit my personal preferences. Your mileage may vary. The packaging is fine, the overall tea quality seems acceptable - don't overlook this tea simply because it doesn't suit one person's palate.

I was surprised at the sheer amount of tea in the bag. This is really good value for the money. I transferred some of the tea to my tea cans and still had half a bag left over. I did appreciate the fact that the bag was re-sealable. The flavor is exactly what I expected from Lapsang Souchong (nice and smokey, great flavor and color). I tried another bag recently, but wasn’t as pleased with the tea. I’ll be switching back to this tea for my next purchase.

Let me preface this by saying that I already knew that I like Lapsong Souchong tea... My mom would make it when I was a little kid so it has a special place in my heart. I nearly always buy bulk tea to try to save money so I bought this tea hoping that it would taste good (what a risk). Boy, I'm glad I did! It has a lovely smokey and black tea flavor. I bought some for my sister who also loved it! The packaging is unique and the tab closes easily. I would recommend getting tea strainers if you don't already have some! I use a Bee House teapot that my mom gave to me after upgrading to a bigger pot. On the other hand, if you do not like smokey flavor (smoked bbq sauce for example), you will NOT like this tea. My husband hates this tea and does not understand why I like it so much.

L S has been my go to tea for years and I have had brands much more expensive than this. I find this brand to be on par with the more expensive brands. I wish it were organic though. My usual L S tea is organic but since Covid has been unavailable. This tea has a nice amount of smoke (nice means substantially smokey) Make no mistake. This tea is without a doubt smokey if that is what you are into. Other than that it is mellow and full bodied, not overly acidic or sharp/acrid. I also like to add a bag of Celestial Seasonings Madagascar Vanilla to the cup. Smokey teas aren't for everyone, but I am basically a dark coffee drinker so I appreciate the strong depth of this variety.

What I thought I ordered was Black currant black tea. What I recieved smelled like cigar ash and tasted awful! I ended up throwing it in the trash because I couldn't return a food item.

Even though I carefully noted the size/weight, I was still very pleasantly surprised by the amount of tea for the price. And then, I discovered that it's a very good tea, not just an economical one. In fact, I went to a fancy schmancy tea store in a major city a couple of weeks after getting this tea, to see if their teas were worth considering, and their version of Lapsang Souchong wasn't half as aromatic, the leaves were all broken, and of course it was a lot more expensive. I liked the quality of this tea so much that I bought another Solstice Tea Traders offering, a loose leaf tea sampler set (the one in the red heart tins), to give as a gift to another tea lover. I wish more of their tea offerings were available through Amazon, instead of just a small percentage of the many types of tea that the company sells.