Lapsang Souchong

30g

€14,40 EUR

Zhengshan Xiaozhong, known globally as Lapsang Souchong, is recognized as the world’s first black tea, originating over 400 years ago in Tongmu, Wuyi Mountains. Its signature pine-smoked character, warm sweetness, and dried-longan notes make it an unforgettable and historic Chinese tea.

Tasting Notes:

Pine smoke • Dried longan • Caramel sweetness

€14,40 EUR

Taxes included.

Type:
Black Tea

Variety:
Local Tongmu Cultivar

Region:
Tongmu Village, Wuyi Mountains, Fujian, China

History:
Origin of the world’s first black tea (Ming Dynasty, over 400 years)

Craft:
Withering · Rolling · Full oxidation · Pine-wood drying

Caffeine Level:
Medium

Zhengshan Xiaozhong holds a unique place in tea history. Around the late Ming Dynasty (c. 1568), tea farmers in Tongmu fled from wartime troops, leaving freshly picked leaves to sit too long. When they returned, the leaves had darkened beyond use for green tea. To salvage them, the farmers rolled the leaves and dried them using local pine wood, accidentally creating an entirely new category — black tea.

This traditional style preserves that origin: tight, glossy black strips of dry leaf, carrying a gentle pine smoke on the surface. Once brewed, the liquor becomes bright orange-red, clear and glowing. The aroma is a fusion of pine smoke and dried-longan sweetness, while the taste is rich, mellow, and warming, with returning sweetness that lingers at the throat. The leaf base expands to soft bronze with visible wrinkles — a sign of full oxidation and traditional craftsmanship.

Zhengshan Xiaozhong is not only a tea, but a story —
from wartime improvisation to the foundation of global black tea culture.

Gongfu Style
4–5g | 120ml | 95–100°C
Warm the gaiwan → quick rinse
1st infusion 12–15s →2nd 20s → 3rd 30s → 4th 45s → 5th 60s
Increase time gradually for later steeps

Tea-to-water ratio
1:35–40 recommended

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