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Lapsang Souchong - Leaves Four and Five
Description
The cup is Lapsang Souchong, and the leaves in it are larger than you might expect — long, broad, dark, with the roughness of something that’s weathered more than one season. As they open, you can see the shape of a whole leaf returning, not just a tip or a fragment. The aroma rises with smoke and malt, and the taste holds its ground: full, round, never lost under the fire. The prized tips are delicate, but it’s the mature leaves, further down the branch, that can take the smoke and still taste like themselves. Some things can only be carried by what’s been growing a while.
Today's cup: Lapsang Souchong — Camellia sinensis, smoked over pinewood. 1 tsp, 200mL, 100°C, three minutes. It takes a second infusion.
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