Lapsang Souchong Tea

Lapsang Souchong Premium Loose Leaf Tea

Lapsang souchong is a special type of oxidized black tea that comes from China. It was originally created in the mountainous Wuyi region of China, located in the Fujian province.

History suggests this tea was first created when civilians in the Wuyi area were fleeing from Qing dynasty soldiers. They quickly dried fresh picked tea leaves over fires and then buried the tea in sacks to ensure it did not spoil until they were able to return.

The name “lapsang souchong” comes from the traditional Fuzhou dialect. In this dialect, “souchong” means “small sort,” referring to the smaller black tea leaves that are plucked for use in lapsang souchong tea. “La” refers to pine, and the word “sang” means wood.

Put these terms together and lapsang souchong means “small sort pine wood” – referring to the pine smoking method used to create this special type of tea.

Lapsang souchong is unlike any other type of tea. It is a common misunderstanding to expect lapsang souchong to taste like a standard black tea. Some people assume this because both lapsang souchong and black tea come from the Camellia sinensis shrub. However, this is untrue!

Due to the unique oxidation process, lapsang souchong has a sweet, refreshing, yet smoky flavour unique to this tea. It’s imbued with the flavour of pine resin, since pine needles and pine wood are burned to smoke and dry the tea during the process of crafting lapsang souchong.

When brewed properly, it will have a coppery-golden colour in your cup, and an appealing, smoky scent. You can enjoy lapsang souchong on its own, or with the addition of your favourite sweetener such as sugar or honey, and milk like almond milk, soy milk, dairy milk, or coconut milk – there’s no wrong way to drink it!

In fact, some lapsang souchong enthusiasts swear by using maple syrup to sweeten their tea! The natural caramel and vanilla notes in natural maple syrup make it a great compliment to the smoky, piney flavour of the tea.

More information
Place 1 – 1.5 tsp of tea per cup allow to brew for 2-5 mins according to taste.