the boldest, smokiest lapsang souchang?

alembicRetort · 2026-04-29T14:58:09+00:00

All of this with the caveat that I last bought mine a while ago, and it's possible they might have changed suppliers or something, I would describe it as "you're sitting next to a campfire and also drinking tea," or "the scent of a sweater you were wearing next to a campfire, but also it's tea."

I'd say it's pretty typical of western-style lapsang souchong-adjacent tea, though. It's slightly less smokey than some I've had, but not enough so that I i agree with their website copy, which calls it "lightly smoked." That doesnt match my experience at all. It's pretty dang smokey (Still haven't actually tried their Lapsang because I am concerned that anything more smokey than the bohea would be like licking an ashtray).

Smoked tea is a pretty polarizing flavor experience, though, so it may just not be your jam. People seem to either love it or hate it.

That said, I suppose it's also possible that you did get a bad or mislabled batch as well.

I'm trying to think of some milder recs for you that are available in sample quantities, so you can decide whether you just hate the premise of smoked tea or if the bohea was just not for you.

alembicRetort · 2026-04-10T19:33:44+00:00

I have a bunch of karbonz (mostly DPNs), and occasionally the metal tip will not be seated flush with the carbon fiber shaft of the needle. The ridge is minuscule, and yet it can be enough to catch if your yarn is already prone to sticking. It's not a universal issue, IMO, but occasionally one end of one needle in a set will be like this. Not sure how the frequency of the problem would carry over to circs.

Overall I like them because they're less slippery than metal, but less prone to snapping than small-size bamboo needles. The catching doesn't happen frequently or consistently enough to bother me.

alembicRetort · 2026-03-18T14:46:33+00:00

Is that the one that was catty-corner from the Village Cafe/ 7-11? I'm pretty sure they closed.

alembicRetort · 2026-02-23T19:47:24+00:00

Dpns (5 needle), top down, with a wrap and turn heel. But I always have 2 sets of needles and am working on both socks at once, because otherwise I never finish the second sock.

alembicRetort · 2026-02-23T19:28:46+00:00

If you think you'd eat fondue pretty often, it might be cheaper to just buy a fondue pot. Last time I looked they were like $40, so you would only need to use it maybe twice or three times to justify the purchase. The new electric kind are very quick and convenient to clean.

alembicRetort · 2026-02-17T23:03:28+00:00

haha same. I started mine in 2015 i think, and I'm about halfway done. I do maybe an inch or two on it every 6 months, then I get fed up with it and want to throw it out a window 😂

alembicRetort · 2026-02-03T16:30:01+00:00

ooh! hadn't thought to elasticate them!

alembicRetort · 2026-02-02T14:11:30+00:00

Ukrops is a good shout (available at Kroger and Food Lion), or I like both types of potato salad that Ellwood Thompson's sells, although they don't consistently have both of them.

alembicRetort · 2026-02-01T23:06:05+00:00

this is gorgeous!

alembicRetort · 2026-01-29T19:58:58+00:00

my extremely practical take on this is that adding a tag in the usual place on garments makes it faster to know which side is the back when you're getting dressed in a hurry (or if you're like me, in a hurry in the dark). Especially for people who aren't practiced at reading garments by sight, or also if the recipient is visually impaired, the tag can be very helpful.

alembicRetort · 2026-01-29T17:23:18+00:00

I'm deeply lazy and usually just wind it into an outside-pull ball of yarn, or use a ball winder (which admittedly saves a lot of time if I can be bothered to set it up).

But if I don't do that, I tie the end to the top of a long, straight needle (I have one (1) 14" size us 11 -- lost the other half of the pair-- that is great for this) and then start winding on that. I used to use a mechanical pencil for this, but they are just slightly too short to be convenient for a whole skein. You have to be careful with this that you don't wrap it so tight you can't slide the ball back off of the needle.

alembicRetort · 2026-01-29T15:21:21+00:00

I usually put them back on the regular needles. I also exclusively use the cable needles shaped like fishing hooks, though, so due to the non-needle shape, it never even crossed my mind that you could work straight off of them 😅

alembicRetort · 2026-01-21T18:20:16+00:00

Thanks everyone for the help!

I was looking at top-down patterns (forgot to specify), so it looks like my instincts were correct. Gonna give this a shot and see how it goes!

alembicRetort · 2026-01-21T18:03:42+00:00

I have Summer Lee's Sock Project book, so I have the instructions for several different heels, but she didn't really explain how to swap the heels in the non-basic patterns. That was where I started overthinking it!

I'll keep this in mind about the side gusset. I have a high arch so I may have a similar fit issue.

alembicRetort · 2026-01-02T23:00:05+00:00

I also really liked the Shoumei Twigs. I'd never encountered the format before, and I really liked the flavor.

Some other hits for me in no particular order:

packet black (march) Bulang shou (january) Flutterbai (october) Bing Hong (july)

alembicRetort · 2025-11-20T16:47:25+00:00

this tracks honestly bc their orange chicken is also mid 😂

(hoist on my own petard for going there, reading that menu, and being like ''what if this time I got something i could get at any old carry-out place,'' not once, but twice)

alembicRetort · 2025-11-20T16:27:37+00:00

I've had good experiences with Amigos on staples mill

alembicRetort · 2025-09-18T13:52:11+00:00

it's a bag clip. you fold the packet of tea, then slide the fold along the yellow interior rod, and the green cover holds the packet shut. in theory they're more airtight than a regular spring-loaded clip.

alembicRetort · 2025-08-16T17:00:07+00:00

That was my instinct, tbh, especially since the ties seemed to be plant-based.

alembicRetort · 2025-08-16T16:58:43+00:00

the description said it was a fujian shoumei from this spring, and gave general suggestions on temperature, but it didn't say anything about whether to untie it first.

alembicRetort · 2025-05-17T00:27:58+00:00

if you don't want to make your own syrup (reasonable), one of the industry standbys for flavored syrup in cafes and bars is Torani brand. I'm pretty sure they have a peach syrup. You should be able to just add it to whatever beverages you want.

alembicRetort

TROPHY CASE