Steep Stories

Tag: Lapsang Souchong

  • A Zombie Tea Blend Story

    I remember the first time I learned of the existence of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. It was 2009, and I was perusing my local Powell’s. Back then, genre fiction was mostly dominated by steampunk and supernatural teen fair. This mash-up of period piece and horror tropes came at just the right time in literary…

  • Texans and Tong Mu

    Let’s start with a simple introduction for the rookies: Lapsang Souchong is a pinewood (or pine needle)-smoked black tea, originally hailing from Fujian province, China. I’ve waxed manly-melodic about Lapsang Souchong (originally known as Zhen Shan Xiao Zhong) on two different blogs. Several, several times. And I’ve even paid homage to the li’l UNESCO protected…

  • My Tea Snobbery and the Source of Steampunk Whimsy

    Almost three years ago, I wrote a rant about steampunk – a sci-fi sub-genre focusing on a fanciful Victorian aesthetic. It wasn’t very kind to the various gear-laden facets of the retro offshoot. I argued that the sub-genre lacked a key component that was the beating heart of any alt-history endeavor – a sense of…

  • Whiskey Smoked Tea

    Whiskey Smoked Tea – The Tea-Totaler Trilogy, Part 3 This is a parable about poor impulse control. I was having a conversation with Mizuba Tea’s Lauren Purvis about experiments regarding matcha, smoke and wine. She asked me if I’d seen a recent article posted by The Japanese Tea Sommelier. I’d heard of this blogger before,…

  • A Saturday Evening with Friday Afternoon

    It was a Saturday, as the title suggests. Saturday, March 21, to be precise. It was a really shitty Saturday, in other words. The work shift was going frustratingly poorly. My student loan sharks announced they were tripling my monthly payment. And finally . . . a panic attack was looming. Not sure how that…

  • Scottish Grown Tea and Mystery Lasses

    This all started with a forum topic. Tea Trade’s resident Smiling Frenchman – Xavier (of the Teaconomics blog) – had posted a discussion starter. It was aptly titled: “The First Scottish Tea is White and Smoky” That immediately held my attention. In the discussion, Xavier posted a link to an article about a new outfit…

  • Fujian Face-Off! Lapsang Souchong Vs. Jin Jun Mei

    I think I’ve made my point rather clear that I love Lapsang Souchong. Many of my blogs here, or on my manlier Devotea-backed side-project – Beasts of Brewdom – have extolled its virtues (and lack of subtlety). Maybe it was the campfire taste, or the trail of forest-fire it left on my tongue in its…

  • Prelude to a Tea Bar

    This all started back in the Spring…with Instagram. I was still fairly new to the site, and had one specific goal for it – make my blog pictures look prettier. I was a crappy photographer at best; a passable one at worst. Never did I expect to actually use it to network. Social or otherwise.…

  • “The Subtlety of Smoke” – The Changing Face of Lapsang Souchong, Part 2

    This is Part 2 of a trilogy of posts about Lapsang Souchong. For Part 1, go HERE. The Changing Face of Lapsang Souchong, Part 2: “The Subtlety of Smoke” The branding and categorizing of tea can get a little fuzzy, especially where China is concerned. The main reason being, a lot of the origin stories…

  • “Silver and Smoke” – The Changing Face of Lapsang Souchong, Part 1

    This is the first installment in a trilogy of posts about Lapsang Souchong. The Changing Face of Lapsang Souchong, Part 1: “Silver and Smoke” Tong Mu Guan is a village on Wu Yi Shan (read: “mountain”) in Fujian province, China. It is considered the birthplace of modern day black tea. As legend has it, the…