Is Lapang Souchong all about the Smoky flavour?
Lapsang Souchong Black Tea, also called as Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong 正山小種，is one of the earliest black tea in the world, with more than 450 years of history. Zheng Shan (正山） represent the unique location of the growing area – Tong Mu Village within the Xing Cun Zheng of Wuyi Mountain, Fujian. Xiao Zhong (小種) represent the small leaf varietal of the Tea.
Traditionally, Lapsang Souchong is a kind of smoked black tea, being smoke-baked by pine wood. But does it mean all kinds of Lapsang Souchong is being smoked? We have been asked several time about this question – why is the Souchong Black Tea not having the smoky flavour? In fact, Lapsang Souchong can be smoked or unsmoked, the souchong commonly found nowadays is usually unsmoked – with different kinds of unique taste! In this tasting box, you can try the traditional smoky Shouchong and 3 different kinds of unsmoked souchong – full of fruitiness and smokiness at the same time!
What’s included in mastertasting collection #22 ?
Is Lapsang Souchong all about the smoked flavor? In fact, there is both smoked and unsmoked Souchong Black Tea. In this box, you can find four different kinds of Souchong’s flavour from the Tong Mu Village!
1. Lapsang Souchong – Smoky 2022 (10g)
2. Lapsang Souchong – Smile of Princess 2022 (10g)
3. Lapsang Souchong – Peachy 2022 (15g)
4. Lapsang Souchong – Milky 2022 (15g)
Traditional Making Process of Smoky Lapsang Souchong
The traditional making process of Smoked Lapsang Souchong is quite complicated – including withering, rolling, fermentation, “Guo Hong Guo 過紅鍋” ( which means frying in a wok), rolling for the second time, smoke baking by the pine wood, re-firing and then Maocha is made. In addition to the normal making procedures of black tea, it required a special step – Smoke Baked by the pine wood charcoal, creating the unique pine smoked flavour which can only be found in the Lapsang Souchong Tea.
Fermentation of Lapsang Souchong inside the bamboo basket
The traditional making process is usually taken place in the Qing Lou 青樓 in the Tong Mu Village
The step of Smoke-Baking to create the unique smoked pine flavour
What is waiting for you in the tasting box?
This Smoky Lapsang Souchong is a kind of smoked black tea processed under the traditional Lapsang Souchong making process. In addition to the normal black tea making process ( Picking, Withering, Kneading, Fermentation and Baking/Drying), it required to be smoked over the pine wood fire for drying. During this smoking process, the tea fully absorbed the smoked flavour. It also come with undertone of dried Longan, woody and honey notes.
The Chinese name of this tea is called “Fei Zi Xiao” （妃子笑），which literally translated as “Smile of Princess”. The main characteristics of this Tea is its high but elegant aroma and sweetness. People also called it as “Tea Perfume” because of its high aroma, like a drinkable perfume. This Tea is unsmoked, with apparent notes of fruit, floral, lychee, very elegant and lingering sweetness.
This Peachy Lapsang Souchong fully represent the fruitiness of Lapsang Souchong. It is not scented with any artificial flavour, the peach-like aroma is all natural. It is an unsmoked souchong, very apparent in its fruity notes, it is well balanced in its natural ripped peach flavor and floral notes. It is very sweet, soft and smooth in mouthfeel.
This Lapsang Souchong is unsmoked, this tea does not means it really taste like milk, or any milk scent added. This Tea is sweet and layered in aroma, people usually related this kind of sweetness as the natural kind of milky notes. This milky notes is very subtle, it taste a mild sourness at first, coming with notes of fruit, floral, honey and chocolate, a very mild milky notes will come especially in the aftertaste and the sweetness can last for a while.
