Lapsang souchong: it's rich and smoky; it's different; it's a taste that tea-drinking people tend to either love or hate; it's from the Fujian province of China and the leaves are indeed smoked over a pinewood fire. I don't yearn for it all year long, just in the autumn and wintertime, but it did help me to kick the cigarette habit about five years ago. Whenever I'd get a craving I'd drink the tea instead, and it also seems to stop bacon cravings too. Twinings apparently doesn't sell the loose leaves version anymore in the States, just the bags, but they do sell loose Lapsang on their British site. It's interesting too that Twinings describes the tea as "adventurous" on the American website, while it merely evokes memories of China (if you have them) on the UK site. On the American site they suggest using it as a marinade for meat or fish, while in Britain they just suggest sipping it after dinner instead of coffee. Neither mentions using it for nicotine withdrawal but with the Great American Smoke-Out Day coming sometime soon in November, it's something to consider.
Pictured: The Tea Set -- Claude Monet
