Lapsang Souchong: Behind the Smoke

August 15, 2018
Lapsang Souchong Tea

One of our most memorable teas at Tin Roof would have to be our Lapsang Souchong. It’s a smoky Chinese black tea, that you either love or hate. Those that love it, purchase copious amounts of it. Those that don’t care for it actually threated those that they live with to prepare the tea either outside, or in another room.

What is Lapsang? Lapsang is a type of tea that is cultivated in the Wuyi Mountain region of Fujian Province in China. It is produced using the leaves of the Bohea variety of Camellia sinensis var. sinensis. This variety of tea plant tends to absorb more of the pine aroma then other varietals. The tea is not dried in the traditional way, but is dried over a special type of pinewood fire. The green knotty tail horse pine only grows in the Wuyi region, and is what makes the tea so special. If Lapsang is not dried out using this type of pine, then it is not a true Lapsang tea. Watch out for imposters out there. Some of the competition use liquid smoke to artificially scent the tea, in turn giving it a rather nasty meaty flavor.

In my opinion, our Organic Lapsang Souchong is one of the best representations of this style around. We have purchased this tea from the same vendor for close to 10 yrs. So, the next time you’re in the shop and you would like to try a different type of tea, Lapsang is the one for you.

See you at the shop….

Source: https://www.organicfacts.net/lapsang-souchong-tea.html
Source: https://itsmorethantea.wordpress.com/2016/11/17/four-things-that-make-it-lapsang-souchong/
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/tea/comments/2l2jqe/what_makes_lapsang_souchong_smoky/