Culinary Specialties CooksShopHere- Scented & Flavored Tea: Lapsang Souchong -China

Black

Oolong

Lapsang Souchong
Mainland China
Highly Smoked

Wu Yi Shan, Fujian Province, China
Fully-oxidized black tea, smoked post-manufacture
Medium-large size, charcoal-gray color, broken-leaf style, with no tip
Highly-smoked: hardwood aromatics
Pungent, hearty black tea flavor with a slight resinous quality
Smoky aroma that reminds of bacon or a campfire
Deep amber liquor, tinged golden

4 oz	8 oz	16 oz
12.00 Buy	24.00 Buy	48.00 Buy

Lapsang Souchong is assertively smoky (or ‘tarry) and is for the taste enthusiast. One generally either loves or dislikes Lapsang Souchong, rarely is there a middle ground!

Our Lapsang Souchong is produced in a protected, natural area deep in a mountain valley of the Wu Yi Shan. On our tea-sourcing trip to eastern China in 2006, we were granted the special permission necessary to visit this restricted area where Lapsang Souchong is smoked.

The base tea that is smoked for this, our regular, very-smoky Lapsang Souchong, is fully-oxidized leaf that comes from other tea-growing areas that produce leaf specifically for this purpose. This tea is smoked in the cluster of smoking sheds that post-smoke (or 'hot-smoke') a limited quantity of this tea after the manufacture of the local leaf (the famous, original Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong) is completed.

See the story of our visit to these fascinating sheds in our book: The Story of Tea: A Cultural History and Drinking Guide, Ten Speed Press 2007.

Even though it is a fully-oxidized tea, Lapsang Souchong is one of the few black teas that can usually be re-steeped for a second cup, depending on the duration of the first infusion.

Use 1 generous teaspoon per 6 oz of water
Steep 1 infusion at 3-5 minutes.
Water temperature should be 190˚ - 200˚ F