Tea For Pipe Smokers

[gtclark]

While on vacation last week, my wife and I wandered into a quaint tea and spice shop in downtown Wilmington, NC. I've always been a coffee drinker, and mostly smiled an nodded as my wife opened and smelled various jars of loose leaf tea. Some of the teas smelled pleasant enough, but I wasn't particularly intrigued by anything on offer. Being generally ignorant of tea, I picked up another jar of generic looking black tea labelled "Russian Caravan" and cracked the lid...A deep, smokey aroma instantly filled the room. "Ugh, what is that?" my wife asked. "I don't know, but I like it!" I replied, my nose buried in the the jar. I asked the shop keeper what I was smelling, and she directed me to another jar labelled "Lapsang Souchong". That tea was even darker, smokier, more pungent in character. I ordered an ounce of each, and have been enjoying both blends immensely - very reminiscent of a fine Latakia mixure.
I'm sure this is old news to many of our UK members, but this was a revelation to my American-coffee-drinking-pipe-smoking palette, and I feel as if I have discovered a hidden treasure. If you like Latakia in any proportion, give Lapsang Souchong a try. If this is old news and I'm the last one to the party, let me know. Also, does anyone know of any other variety of smoked tea? I'm now an enthusiast.

 

[aldecaker]

I'll definitely have to try some. As it is, I love strong, unsweetened Earl Gray with a bowl of Lat blend. Now I'm thinking, cup of tea, plate of smoked oysters, bowl of PS Proper English. Thanks, guys. My pipe smoking wasn't near enough of a ritual before!

 

[petes03]

I too am pretty ignorant of all the different tea varieties.

Being from the south, we mostly drink sweet iced tea. My experience with any other is pretty much limited to Twining's of London ( regular old grocery store stuff).

But I do enjoy their Irish Breakfast Tea, and their Earl Grey. I'm sure that good artisan tea is much much better, and the ones you just described sound delicious.

I'll have to give some a try if I can find any around here. I'll keep my eyes open!

 

[captainprophesy]

Im right there with Petes03... with the exception that I also enjoy PG Tips.
I will say the way you describe those two blends has me VERY intrigued... I'll go into a local shop we have, that I've never visited before, and see if they have those or something similar.

 

[fmgee]

gtclark: Lapsang souchong is the smokiest of smokey teas. Russian Caravan is midway there. If you like some subtlelty Yunnan teas have a light smokey taste. Then there are thousands of blends that have a component that will add some smoky character (typically "Scottish Breakfast" has some). There are also plenty of green teas with some smoky characteristics but I am not very familiar with them. Gunpowder green tea does come to mind however. For each of these there are many different producers and therefore many different subtle flavour variations.
I am a huge tea snob. I will not drink tea from a bag and pretty much refuse to drink it out of the house.
For anyone wanting to explore the world of real tea (don't even get me started on herbal infusions being called tea!) I suggest checking out Uptons Tea. Great customer service, good online photographs of the actual tea, accurate descriptions and a huge selection of very high quality tea. One of the reasons my wife understands my search for tobacco blends I like is that we have done the same thing with tea over many years.

 

[jkrug]

WOW...that sounds incredibly delicious. I am surely going to seek this tea out and try it. Thanks for the Uptons link fmgee. ::

 

[jkrug]

What a great website! Not only do they have a trillion blends of tea available but lots of good reading on all things tea. I will be spending some time there reading up on tea for sure. ::

 

[easterntraveler]

Just like everything it comes to your taste. However, I find black tea to be the best for me. The taste tends to complement each other and you can actually taste the tea while smoking. I use lose leaf tea. http://www.adagio.com/signature_blend/group.html

this place is awesome. I drink Golden Monkey and Dragon balls.

 

[fmgee]

Jkrug: One of the best things about importing tea is that there are no customs charges ever! That and it is a flat rate shipping. We typically order 3+ kilos at a time.
I wish all these things were true about tobacco as well.
For a solid tasty black tea I have to recommend Irish Breakfast Tea and CTC Assam Estate blend from Uptons. Those are two staples in our house.

 

[davet]

King Cole tea, the only tea I'll buy. It's only available in eastern Canada. I keep a box of this in Fort McMurray Alberta for when I'm out there working. Orange Pekoe, no froo froo flavours, just straight good tea.
http://kingcoletea.ca/en/

 

[mortonbriar]

Lapsang souchong is my staple loose leaf, goes great with straight virginia's and the lat blends too. Irish breakfast with full cream milk is my other go to option.
Isaac

 

[stephenw]

My daily tea is Keemun. I drink at least one pot a day, sometimes up to 3 pots a day. I go through close to 2 pounds a month. Even though I enjoy Latakia in tobaccos I rarely smoke it. When I first tried Lapsang Souchong I thought I was drinking Latakia. The aroma and flavor were spot on. I drink Lapsang about are rarely as I smoke Latakia. My primary tobacco is well aged McClellands 2015, and I find the Keemun is a perfect companion. It has a very very slight smokiness to it that pairs well with my 2015, and with most foods that I can eat. I used to enjoy Earl Grey but now I find that I just cannot tolerate the bergamot that is added to it. For what it is worth, I purchase all my tea from Simpson & Vail I have found their customer service to be 2nd to none, and when I had a special request they sent me a box full of free samples just to see if they could accommodate my needs.

 

[echie]

Yorkshire gold. With milk (of course). No sugar. Goes really well with any English or Va/VaPer I've tried

 

[pipebuddy]

A good strong tea makes for an excellent companion to a bowl of tobacco.

 

[jkrug]

Jkrug: One of the best things about importing tea is that there are no customs charges ever! That and it is a flat rate shipping. We typically order 3+ kilos at a time.
I wish all these things were true about tobacco as well.
For a solid tasty black tea I have to recommend Irish Breakfast Tea and CTC Assam Estate blend from Uptons. Those are two staples in our house.
That is good to know. I'm going to do a little reading on their site and will no doubt place an order in the next little while. I hope this doesn't turn into another TeaAD?? :D

 

[huntertrw]

Lapsang Souchong is the truly latakia of the tea world, and a wintertime favorite for me.

 

[stickframer]

Mmm it's been a long time since I bought any loose leaf tea. Lapsing Souchong sounds very intriguing. My usual teas have been Twinnings- Earl Grey and Irish Breakfast, black no sugar and brewed strong.

 

[lraisch]

My daughter and son in law are not keen on my pipe smoking so imagine my amusement when they discovered Russian Caravan while we were in a tea shop in England. I told them I would give them some Squadron Leader to steep if that's what they liked. I prefer Lifeboat tea with my pipe though I find a cup of coffee an even better compliment.

 

[mortonbriar]

Another tea I have enjoyed with a pipe lately is liquorice tea, they call it 'black adder' on the brand i get. It has a dry tongue after taste thing a little like what a sip of something strong like whisky does, so a very nice accompaniment to a bowl.
Isaac

 

[troutface]

I prefer the tea not taste like smoke because, you know, I'm getting that from the pipe. I like a phoenix oolong in the morning with a light English or Virginia and then maybe a heavier Assam in the afternoon with a richer English blend. Two other sites to check out are Tea Trekker, and Golden Tips, who ship directly from India.