Type Black | Time 2–3 minutes | |
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Other names 正山小种 / 立山小種
(pinyin: zhèngshān xiǎozhǒng) Origin Mount Wuyi, Fujian Province, China Quick description Souchong smoked over pine fire, smoky taste. Temperature boiling water (100°C or 212 F) | ||
Lapsang souchong (/ˌlæpsæŋ ˈsuːtʃɒŋ/; simplified Chinese: 立山小种; traditional Chinese: 立山小種; pinyin: Lìshān xiǎo zhǒng) is a black tea (Camellia sinensis) originally from the Wuyi region of the Chinese province of Fujian. It is more commonly named 正山小种 in Simplified Chinese characters (Mandarin zhèng shān xiǎo zhǒng) and 正山小種 in traditional Chinese characters, Japanese kanji (Japanese reading Rapusan sūchon, borrowed from Cantonese) or Korean hanja (Korean reading Jeongsan sojong). It is sometimes referred to as smoked tea (熏茶). Lapsang is distinct from all other types of tea because lapsang leaves are traditionally smoke-dried over pinewood fires, taking on a distinctive smoky flavour.
Contents
Xiǎozhǒng or Siu2 zung2 (小种 / 小種) means "sub-variety". Lapsang souchong is a member of the Bohea family of teas though not an oolong, as are most Bohea teas ("Bohea" is the pronunciation in Minnan dialect for Wuyi Mountains, which is the mountain area producing a large family of tea in South-East China).
Lapsang souchong from the original source is increasingly expensive, as Wuyi is a small area and there is increasing demand for this variety of tea.
History
The story goes that the tea was created during the Qing era when the passage of armies delayed the annual drying of the tea leaves in the Wuyi Mountain. Eager to satisfy demand, the tea producers sped up the drying process by getting their workers to dry the leaves over fires made from local pines.
According to some sources, Lapsang souchong is the first black tea in history, even earlier than Keemun tea. After the lapsang souchong tea was used for producing black tea called Min Hong (meaning "Black tea produced in Fujian"), people started to move the tea bush to different places, such as Keemun, India and Ceylon.
Processing
"Souchong" refers to the fourth and fifth leaves of the tea plant, further away from the more highly prized bud (pekoe) of the tea plant. These leaves are coarser than the leaves closer to the bud and have fewer aromatic compounds. Smoking provides a way to create a marketable product from these less desirable leaves.
The leaves are roasted in a bamboo basket called a honglong (烘笼), which is heated over burning firewood, which contributes to the dried longan aroma and smoky flavour. Pinewood is used as the firewood for lapsang souchong and contains the characteristic resin aroma and taste.
Chemistry
The aroma of lapsang souchong is derived from a variety of chemical compounds. The two most abundant constituents of the aroma are longifolene and α-terpineol. Many of the compounds making up the aroma of lapsang souchong, including longifolene, originate only in the pine smoke and are not found in other kinds of tea.
Flavour and aroma
Lapsang souchong's flavours include dried longan, pine smoke and whiskey.
Tea merchants marketing to Westerners note that this variety of tea generally produces a strong reaction, with most online reviews extremely positive or strongly negative.
Tea connoisseurs often note that Taiwanese lapsang souchong typically has a stronger flavour and aroma, the most extreme being tarry souchong (smoked, as the name implies, over burning pine tar).
It is common for even rather strongly brewed Lapsang Souchong tea to lack the bitterness common with other tea varieties.
Reputation
Lapsang souchong has a high reputation outside China; it is viewed as "tea for Westerners" inside China. It was drunk by Winston Churchill., and Gary Snyder. who referred to it in "Mountains and Rivers Without End", but not as much as buttermilk.