Twinings Lapsang Souchong tea was a staple for ritual tea drinkers from the UK and beyond for 300 years. To our horror in 2023, it has been discontinued and replaced by a poor imitation called 'Distinctly Smokey'. Customers have compared the taste of this new product to “sipping a swimming pool after a chemical incident”, “insult to customers” and ash, glue and ‘fake bacon bits’ (as reported in the Independent, Evening Standard and Telegraph newspapers).

Drinking Lapsang is more than a mere act of consumption, it is an integral part of UK culture and daily life. From Winston Churchill to the older and younger generations alive today, it is written into our consciences as joy in the mundane, a part of our lives that is irreplaceable. From reminiscences of the delicate smokey aroma wafting from our parents kitchen to the 1960s hippies sipping it from a flask at festivals, Twinings cannot take away part of our culture and heritage. 

We assert that Twinings can't simply eradicate this important part of our history and our present. They blame sourcing problems and the rise in the price per tea bag but we Lapsang Souchong lovers would rather pay more for our beloved tea than lose access to it all together. It was the most affordable Lapsang brand in the UK. It is still available all over the EU! We call upon Twinings to urgently reinstate Lapsang Souchong tea bags immediately and for the issue to be debated in parliament.