I'm not much of a fan of smoky teas. It's really a matter of personal history. It takes me back to a house filled with fire smoke or cigarette smoke, and my frantically opening windows, choking just to breathe. Now, somehow, this tea managed to clear that all away and elicit only my positive memories of smoke -- clean, pine wood campfires in the woods, the lingering scent of smoke by a well-made fire. The smoke scent here is clean and tinged with pine. Some Lapsang Souchong teas I've smelled have a less-clean scent to them, as if the smoke which they were exposed to wasn't pure. Not so with this one. It elicits the memory of the outdoors because it's that pure in its scent. The flavor is similar for the first few cups, Eastern style. Then, the smoke fades to more pine and woody notes. The tea is relaxing, rather than energizing -- which is par for the course with smoked and roasted teas, as the caffeine just doesn't seem to endure the process. There was a bit of that light cough from smokiness. I never enjoy that aspect of smoky teas. But, the calming, extremely warming experience of drinking this was much-needed. It really warmed me more than an average tea -- perhaps because of the smokiness. While I cannot see myself drinking this every day, as a hot cup of campfire isn't the first thing that comes to mind in the morning, I did enjoy it and it did have a wonderful effect. So, I would want to keep some around to warm me up and calm me down on a cool autumn or winter day.

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