Lapsang souchong

Lapsang Souchong

Type:	Black
Other names:	正山小种 (pinyin: zhèngshān xiǎozhǒng)
Origin:	Mount Wuyi, Fujian Province China
Quick description:	Souchong smoked over pine fire, smoky taste.

Lapsang souchong is a black tea originally from the Wuyi region of China province of Fujian. Lapsang is distinctive from all other types of tea because Lapsang leaves are traditionally smoke-dried over pinewood fires, taking on a distinctive smoky flavor.

Preparation

Lapsang Souchong is traditionally smoke-dried over pinewood fires. The name in Fukienese means "smoky variety" or more correctly "smoky sub-variety," where Souchong refers to the large leaf type of tea bush that grows in the Wuyi Mountains of Fujian from where it originates. Its distinctive smoky flavor sometimes causes it to be referred to as smoked tea, or "tarry lapsang."

The tea is traditionally made in villages on Zhen Shan Mountain, using special wooden smoking sheds. The large leaf tea is plucked and partially processed in the surrounding area, and then brought to the sheds to be smoked over the fire and given a final drying. The processing uses pine wood fires, or alternatively cypress wood may be used to dry the leaves.

The leaves are first heated to 60 °C (140 °F) to 70 °C (158 °F), stirring them every twenty minutes, and when the leaves are pliable, they are rolled and shaped and then put into wooden boxes to oxidize. Then:

After panfrying and rolling, they are pressed into wooden barrels and covered with cloth to ferment until they give off a pleasant fragrance. The leaves are fried again and rolled into taut strips. Then they are placed in bamboo baskets and hung on wooden racks over smoking pine fires to dry and absorb the smoke flavor. When finished they are thick, glossy black strips, and produce a dark red beverage with a unique aroma.

Lapsang Souchong should be brewed in 100 °C (212 °F) water for three to four minutes to produce the best flavor. It should be strained and more water added for second and third infusions.

History

Lapsang Souchong is a tea that was created by accident not design. The Wuyi Mountains were famous for their large leaf oolong teas, and it is from these that lapsang souchong comes.

In 1646, during the reign of the young Qing emperor Shunzhi his uncle, the chief regent Prince Dorgon, attempted to bring the province of Fuijan under Manchu rule. According to local lore, when the army invaded the Wuyi Shan area the villagers of Tong Mu attempted to hide their tea from the soldiers. The Jiang family has a history of 24 generation in Tong Mu village and claims the honor of resourcefully inventing this tea. To prevent it from rotting they quickly dried it, heating it by burning freshly cut pinewood from the surrounding forests. Upon their return they discovered that the tea was dark and had a strong smoky flavor; they considered it ruined.

However, when Dutch traders came to buy tea as they had been doing for several years, the villagers offered this "special" tea to them. Surprisingly, the Dutch were impressed and returned the following year to buy more, even offering a higher price than for the usual teas.

The tea was easy to reproduce and became known as bohea. In the local dialect it became known as lapsang (meaning pine wood), and as the term bohea became used broadly for many dark teas the term souchong was added to distinguish the large leaf variety from the Wuyi region.

Flavor

A black tea, lapsang souchong has a rich color.

Lapsang Souchong's flavor is strong and smoky, similar to the smell of a campfire or of Latakia pipe tobacco. The flavor of the pine smoke is meant to complement the natural taste of the black tea, but should not overwhelm it. However, the flavor is distinctive, with the result that people either love it or hate it.

Variation occurs in the strength of the flavor of the tea and the intensity of the smokiness. Less smoky varieties are thus available for those who prefer only a little smoke flavoring.

Use

When drunk as a tea accompanying food, Lapsang Souchong's strong smoky flavor tastes particularly good with salty and spicy dishes and also with cheese. It is also delicious when drunk beside a warm fireplace.

Its smoky flavor also may be used to add a distinctive tang to a variety of savory culinary creations. For example, when added to mayonnaise Lapsang Souchong gives an appropriate flavor for a smoked turkey sandwich.

Lapsang Souchong imparts a smoky flavor to oven roasted meat even when the oven is kept at a temperature low enough to achieve a tender roast. Because of this quality, Chinese cooks smoke a variety of foodstuffs over smoldering black tea.

Regional variations

Several companies market lapsang souchong tea bags

Lapsang Souchong from the original source is increasingly expensive, as Wuyi is a small area and there is increasing interest in this variety of tea, having become popular in Europe and also the United States.

The highest quality tea from this region, Zhen Shan Xiao Zhong, is rarely available outside China. Since it is made from the small early leaves from the Tong Mu village area there is only a short time to pluck them, resulting in a small amount being produced each season. At a relatively higher elevation, Tong Mu’s winter is colder and longer which encourages a concentration of amino acids in Tong Mu’s tea. In combination with a soil rich in minerals, this results in tea leaves with a characteristic sweet, fruity character. Zhen Shan Xiao Zhong tea is smoked differently from Lapsang Souchong, resulting in less absorption of smoke and also less loss of the delicate flavor of the young leaves. The product is a tea that has the familiar smoky flavor but sweeter and more refined. The smokey quality of Zhen Shan Xiao Zhong is derived from the earthen ovens of Tong Mu village. The tea is put on bamboo baskets and slow roasted over the pine fire heated earthen ovens for 8 to 10 hours. The oven’s design warms the ground of an enclosed space that is floored with rocks to provide radiant heat. These ovens leak a certain amount of smoke, which can be adjusted to vary the desired smokiness of the tea's flavor.

Chinese tea makers who moved to Taiwan developed a strong tea industry there. One of the teas they cultivated is Lapsang Souchong. Although similar to the original in terms of method of production, the Taiwanese tea is stronger and more heavily smoked.

Over the years Lapsang Souchong tea has suffered many transformations as tea producers would take old tea, smoke it heavily or even add chemicals with smoke flavor, and sell it as Lapsang Souchong. It is also sold in tea bags, although this does not necessarily imply a loss in quality of the tea.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Gautier, Lydia. Tea: Aromas and Flavors Around the World. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, 2006. ISBN 978-0811856829
• Heiss, Mary Lou, and Robert J. Heiss. The Story of Tea: A Cultural History and Drinking Guide. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press, 2007. ISBN 978-1580087452
• Pettigrew, Jane, and Bruce Richardson. The New Tea Companion. Perryville, KY: Benjamin Press, 2008. ISBN 978-0979343179
• Knight, Elizabeth, and Bruce Richardson. Tea in the City: New York. Benjamin Press, 2006. ISBN 0966347870
• Chow, Kit, and Ione Kramer. All the Tea in China. China Books & Periodicals Inc., 1990. ISBN 0835121941

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