Moscow Nights Black Tea

A dramatic Earl Grey-inspired blend of Ceylon black tea, smoky Lapsang Souchong, and citrusy bergamot, accented with vivid safflower and thistle petals.

The Experience

Moscow Nights Black Tea takes the familiar citrus fragrance of Earl Grey and carries it somewhere darker, smokier, and more atmospheric.

The blend begins with Ceylon black tea, providing a full-bodied foundation with enough structure to support its more distinctive ingredients. Bergamot oil contributes the fragrant citrus character Earl Grey drinkers will immediately recognize, but then Lapsang Souchong changes the experience entirely, introducing a layer of woodsmoke that gives the tea warmth and depth.

Spanish safflower petals and thistle add flashes of color throughout the loose leaf, reinforcing the blend's dramatic appearance. In the cup, the contrast between bright bergamot and smoky Lapsang Souchong is the defining feature: citrus lifts the darker tea while smoke gives familiar Earl Grey character an entirely different personality.

For someone who loves Earl Grey but wants to venture beyond the classic, Moscow Nights is a fascinating next step. For a Lapsang Souchong drinker, it offers a softer introduction to what happens when smoke meets citrus and a fuller blended black-tea base.

Tasting Notes

• Top: Bergamot • Aromatic citrus
  
• Mid: Ceylon black tea • Woodsmoke
  
• Finish: Smoky • Citrusy • Lingering
  
• Body: Full

Why You’ll Love It

Moscow Nights is built around contrast. Bergamot is bright, fragrant, and citrusy; Lapsang Souchong is dark, smoky, and warming. Put them together and each changes the perception of the other.

The smoke makes the bergamot feel less traditionally floral and more complex, while the citrus prevents the Lapsang Souchong from becoming overwhelmingly smoky. The full-bodied Ceylon base anchors both. The result is an Earl Grey-inspired tea for customers who want something bolder, smokier, and less conventional.

Origin & Ingredients

Tea Type: Flavored Black Tea Blend
Style: Earl Grey-Inspired • Smoked
Flavor Profile: Bergamot • Smoke • Citrus
Ingredients: Ceylon black tea, bergamot oil, Lapsang Souchong, Spanish safflower petals and thistle
Caffeine: Yes
Body: Full

How to Brew

Use 1 heaping teaspoon with The Perfect Measure Spoon per 8 oz / 237 ml of water at 212°F / 100°C.

Begin around 3 minutes and adjust according to taste. Because Lapsang Souchong becomes increasingly assertive with a longer infusion, a shorter first steep is a good way to experience the relationship between bergamot, Ceylon tea, and smoke before deciding whether you'd like a stronger cup.

Try Moscow Nights straight first. A small amount of milk can soften the smoke and produce a rounder cup, but drinking it without additions makes the contrast between citrus and woodsmoke much easier to appreciate.

Perfect For

Moscow Nights is particularly suited to cold evenings, fireside reading, late-afternoon tea, or anytime a conventional Earl Grey feels a little too polite. Its smoky character pairs well with dark chocolate, shortbread, aged cheeses, savory pastries, roasted foods, and buttery biscuits. It's also an interesting tea to serve alongside a classic Earl Grey so guests can experience just how dramatically Lapsang Souchong changes the familiar bergamot profile.

When Earl Grey Meets Lapsang Souchong

Two very recognizable tea traditions meet in Moscow Nights. Earl Grey is defined by bergamot, an exceptionally aromatic citrus whose fragrance combines bright citrus qualities with an almost floral perfume. It gives the tea lift and an aroma that is immediately recognizable to generations of tea drinkers. Lapsang Souchong, by contrast, is famous for smoke.

Traditionally associated with Fujian Province, China, Lapsang Souchong is also known by the Chinese name Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong (正山小种). Smoked versions develop their unmistakable character through exposure to wood smoke during processing, creating aromas often compared with campfire, pine, dark wood, and sometimes even whisky.

Moscow Nights doesn't ask either character to disappear. Instead, the blend allows the two to meet. Bergamot brings the light. Lapsang Souchong brings the smoke. Ceylon black tea holds everything together.

A Different Way to Explore Smoky Tea

Pure Lapsang Souchong can be polarizing. Open the bag for the first time, and the aroma may immediately suggest woodsmoke or a campfire. For people accustomed to floral, fruity, or creamy-flavored teas, that can be quite an introduction. Moscow Nights offers a different path into the style. 

Because Lapsang Souchong is only one component of a larger blend, its smoky personality is surrounded by the fuller Ceylon tea base and the bright fragrance of bergamot. You still experience the smoke, but it has something to play against. That makes Moscow Nights particularly useful for the curious tea drinker who thinks:

“I'm interested in smoky tea, but I'm not sure I'm ready for a full cup of Lapsang Souchong.”

Start here. If the smoky finish becomes your favorite part of the cup, Lapsang Souchong Black Tea should probably be your next stop.

Look at the Leaves Before You Brew

Moscow Nights is also a tea worth looking at before hot water ever touches it. Against the dark black-tea leaves are the fiery tones of Spanish safflower and thistle, giving the dry blend a visual personality that suits its evocative name.

Then smell it. You may notice bergamot immediately. Or perhaps smoke reaches you first. Finally, brew the tea and notice how those aromas change once they enter the cup. The citrus can become brighter while the smoke settles into the black-tea foundation. Tea tasting isn't limited to flavor. Look. Smell. Steep. Taste. Moscow Nights rewards all four.

Why “Moscow Nights”?

Rather than inventing a Russian provenance for the recipe, the name is best allowed to evoke the atmosphere of the tea itself. It is easy to understand the imagery: a dark, full-bodied cup, the warmth of smoke, brilliant touches of red among the leaves, and bright bergamot cutting through it all.

The tea may be called Moscow Nights, but its ingredients tell an international story—Ceylon black tea, Chinese-style smoky Lapsang Souchong, citrusy bergamot, and Spanish safflower petals meeting in one cup. The romance is in the name. The real story is in the blend.

Packaging: Our loose teas are sold by the ounce and packaged in food-grade resealable bags.

Explore Our Earl Grey & Smoky Black Teas

Start with familiar bergamot, follow it into smoke, or explore the historic tradition of smoky black-tea blends.

Moscow Nights Black Tea (This Tea)
Bergamot • Woodsmoke • Citrus
→ Best for: Earl Grey drinkers ready to explore a darker, smokier interpretation of bergamot black tea

Russian Caravan Black Tea
Smoky • Robust • Complex
→ Best for: those who enjoy the smoky character of Moscow Nights but want to explore a traditional-style smoky black tea blend without bergamot

Lapsang Souchong Black Tea
Pine smoke • Dark wood • Full-bodied
→ Best for: those who love the smoky side of Moscow Nights and want to experience the famous smoked black tea on its own

Earl Grey Classic Black Tea
Bergamot • Bright citrus • Classic black tea
→ Best for: experiencing the traditional bergamot profile before comparing it with Moscow Nights