Tea: Young Bush Smoked Lapsang Souchong (Zhongshan Xiaozhong)
Type: Tongmuguan Black Tea (hongcha)
Cultivar: Xiaozhong
Harvest: May, 2024
Region: Tongmuguan, Fujian
Producer: Zhang Family
This young bush smoked Lapsang Souchong from Tongmuguan has a lot of strength to the dry leaves and the first infusion. This however melts very softly into the tea as it is brewed. The resultant cups are sweet and spicy with a distinctive mineral note affected by the traditional pine-smoke process. The liquor is a clear gold and very heavy on the mouth for being made of such young trees. Unlike many other Smoked Laspsang Souchong teas on the market, the smokiness of this tea stays in the aroma, while on the tongue a sweet slightly salty note is the key characteristic that has been borne through the smoking process. This tea has been smoked for 24-48 hours with horsetail pine wood, and then rested for a month before being shipped out in late July.
Although this tea is not made of the Masu Village old bush material, it is still made from bushes in the Tongmuguan Nature Reserve and processed in the traditional style by the Mr. Zhang in the family’s traditional wooden Qinglou. The Zhang family has been producing Zhongshan Xiaozhong (Lapsang Souchong) for more than 5 generations, and every member of the family is trained in the processing (sons and daughters both). This region, the village, the farmers, producers, and makers check every one of our sourcing tea boxes.
Check out the other offerings from the Zhang family, and watch the youtube video about our sourcing trip and their production methods!
