Russian Caravan for the greater expense and difficulty of its carriage by this route. Anecdotal evidence had it that during the camel caravan journeys, the teas took on the smoky taste of the campfires. Only the lapsang souchong (if present) in the blend, however, is actually smoke-dried. Some blends use yunnan black tea, together with keemun and lapsang souchong to achieve full bodied, strong copper colored, smokey, and heavy flavored tea with a smooth and mellow aftertaste. Russian Caravan Russian Caravan is a blend of oolong, keemun, and lapsang souchong teas, all produced from "Camellia sinensis" the Chinese tea plant. It is
Tea tasting Tea tasting Tea tasting is the process in which a trained taster determines the quality of a particular tea. Due to climatic conditions, topography, manufacturing process, and different clones of the "Camellia sinensis" plant (tea), the final product may have vastly differing flavours and appearance. These differences can be tasted by a trained taster in order to ascertain the quality prior to sale or possibly blending tea. The ISO 3103 standard describes a standardised method for brewing teas in order to make meaningful sensory comparisons between them. It is not a particularly useful standard for many teas, however, requiring a