Russian Caravan 'Smoke & Shake'!

Many teas have an interesting story attached to them that is often couched in history. One such is Russian Caravan.

Russian Caravan is traditionally a blend of black teas from China that has a slightly smoky flavour. This blend attempts to recreate the taste of the teas that were transported back to the Moscow court after furs had been traded for tea. Since the journey by camel caravan was long and slow, the group of traders would stop for the night and light campfires to ward off wild animals as well as for warmth. Since the cargo was the most important part of the caravan, the tea would have been kept near the fires and it is said that the tea absorbed a certain smokiness from the fires. Many blenders add a hint of Lapsang Souchong to recreate this hint of smoke.

Having tried many different Russian Caravan teas, I remain unconvinced that an authentic taste has been achieved that will appeal to everyone.

As good quality Lapsang is such pungent tea, the amount which needs to be used for a blend is tiny (I have been told as little as 0.25%). I feel that Caravan Teas should be more smoky than they generally are to be truly authentic tasting, and so to this end, I am offering an unblended Caravan Tea with a 10g sachet of Lapsang Souchong so that it is possible to make the tea as smoky or not as you like.

‘Smoke & Shake!’ is packed in a delightful wooden box that I have had made, branded with classic Northern Tea Merchants advertising wording from some of my Grandpa's advertising from the 30's. It contains 250g of unblended Caravan Tea, along with a 10g foil sachet of Lapsang Souchong. The total selling price for this is £19.95 and these gift sets make an ideal and unusual gift for tea buffs everywhere!