Taylors of Harrogate Lapsang Souchong, Black Tea, Pillow Tea Bags, 50 Count (Pack of 1), Smoky, Rich and Strong, Caffeinated, Enjoy Hot or Iced, 50 Teabags

This is very strong tea. It is strong in terms of aroma, strength of flavor, and oh may I stress again the key factor here of aroma. The smell of this tea will be overwhelming to some people, and amazing to others. "Smoky" is the word used on the box and frankly, that's good enough a descriptor for me. It conjures up memories or likenings of just about anything involving fire, or fireplaces, or camp fires, or even just the general season of autumn as these things will all involve the smell of smoke. I could picture this tea really hitting the right mark if consumed after spending a long day outdoors in the cold weather. It's a well-made tea. The flavor comes through, the sediment is quite low, the aftertaste is small -- it's a top-shelf product. Just know what you are getting. If you ordinarily drink Darjeeling or Earl Grey and you cannot imagine anything being stronger, then this tea will knock your socks off. Or if you have a hypersensitive sense of smell and are bothered by anything rising above the presence of crackers and bread, then you will probably be overwhelmed by this. Or perhaps you're like me, and you've consumed enough tea to float a battleship. And you've come to a point where you would like to try something new from time to time because, well, life is short. In that case, I'd say give this a try. It is different and it is unique, but it is also well-made and coherent -- there is a method to the madness, as they say. Good luck to you, my fellow tea drinker.

Taylors of Harrogate blend some splendid teas and their Lapsang Souchong is another well-balanced and consistent entry in the line. As a result of the smoking process this tea doesn't get bitter nor does it have any overly tannic aftertaste: even in bags it provides a smooth and flavorful cup of tea sturdy enough to stand up to having milk added, if you like. This is a "love it or hate it" tea: the flavor is strong and folks usually react strongly to it. I love it! Allegedly Winston Churchill's favorite brew, Lapsang Souchong has a dominant flavor of smoke and is almost peaty in nature (it is smoked in bamboo baskets over pine wood, resulting in the distinctive 'longan' aroma.) If you enjoy smoky tastes such as single-malt Island Scotches like Laphroaig or smoked foods, or you just like to stand downwind of a campfire once in a while you should find this a satisfying brew. If you don't like any of those things you probably won't like this tea either. For me this is a cool, wet weather or very early morning tea and not one I'd reach for in the middle of a hot summer's day. This set of 50 sachets (European style with no tags, strings or staples like US tea bags) comes in an attractive cardboard box but after opening be ready to transfer the sachets to a well-sealed tin or other container unless you want your entire pantry smelling like smoke. It is a VERY fragrant tea! In addition to providing finely blended teas Taylors as a company is also committed to purchasing fairly traded teas which benefits working conditions for tea workers; Taylors was also recently listed as one of the top 100 companies to work for in the UK. I'd rather give my money to smaller companies that have proved themselves good corporate citizens, and Taylors is one of the good guys. Basically: good tea, good price, good company!

Warning-these are not appropriate for the nurse trick of tea bag in a mask to avoid unpleasant scents due to smokiness. I’ve been trying to expand my tea horizons due to their antioxidants, and had never tried lapsang souchong. Generally speaking, I prefer green teas to black (definitely not a fan of Earl Grey) but figured that since I like a good masala chai, this was worth a try. I knew it was going to be smoky, but figured the worst case scenario is that I would never order it again if it wasn’t my cup of tea (intended). Opening up the box was unexpected-I thought my smoke alarms were going to start up. But once steeped it mellows out considerably and becomes pleasantly complex instead of in your face smoky. I drink it with a splash of vanilla soy milk and the little sweetness adds to the flavor. Perfect as a breakfast tea due to its heartiness and caffeine. The only thing I wish is that each bag was individually wrapped to make taking these into work easier, as well as make sharing easier.

Good tea. Reminds me of herbal tea. Kind of weak for my taste but I like very strong tea so… If there’s some stronger brand out there this one might be a good entry level lapsang souchong.

A perfect gift to give when you want someone to know you are thinking of you. My daughter enjoys the depth of the smokey flavor.

The smoky flavor and aroma are something you need to be expecting. But many people, myself included, find this a pleasant outside-the-box tea experience. Not for every day, but a now-and-then evening diversion.

When my usual brand of Lapsang Souchong became unavailable, I reluctantly ordered this brand and have been pleasantly surprised. It has a good, rich flavour and each tea bag is individually wrapped. Although this is not good for the environment, it is beneficial in maintaining freshness. I actually like it better than my original choice and hope it remains available. I find it somewhat overpriced, although the last lot was a bit more reasonable. I use it daily and love it.

Great tasting tea, delivered very promptly, I will be back

Makes a fine pot of tea.

They amount of campfire smell from this is very impressive. It has a nice smokey taste, less then you would expect based on its strong sent. The soup isn't as thick as I've gotten from other companies. My advice is if you like this type of tea you need to buy it somewhere other then Amazon and get a nice bag of loose leaf. There are a bunch of options out there that give you good quality tea for a reasonable price. I wouldn't reorder. If you found that you kind of like this type of tea but feel like it was lacking a little something I would erge you to try again from a proper tea site that sells quality loose leaf.

With these being bags filled with tea powder instead of a true loose leaf tea to unfurl I was extremely pleased at the full and rich authentic flavour and smell of this tea. This is definitely my vote for an in a hurry or pack for an away from home excursion