Lapsang Souchong, The Original Version

Teashop in Guangzhou, 1825
The Chinese characters for “xiaozhong” are written everywhere in the teashop, including one of the two tea chests displayed at the entrance. Xiaozhong is a variety produced all over Fujian. The free hanging shop sign in the right read: Ming-fang Zhai (shop name) Floral Aromatic Xiaozhong. Smoked “Lapsang Souchong” came later, and would be written with the characters for “smoked” in the display.
Click picture to enlarge

others had been making smoky tea too, just not so strong

Smoky flavour in tea, however, is not unique to Wuyi. As mentioned in other articles, such as that on Huangshan Maofeng, the use of high heat and therefore, smoke-giving fire wood, was common also in the Huangshan area. The smoky character has never been a fraction the strength of a smoky Lapsang Souchong, though.

This strength of character does put smoked Lapsang Souchong in a unique position in the taste spectrum of all teas. Some people claimed that it is a man’s tea, better than whiskey. Well, maybe there are more fans of this smoked tea than of whiskey, maybe the other way round. The key is it is not everyone’s cup of tea.

taste character

Traditional shell-on dried long-an. Long-an is a fruit grown in southern China and Southeast Asia. Juicy sweet transparent white meat when fresh; chewy and with intense flavours when dried.

Other than the frequently described dried longan flavour, which better versions of the tea do have an accent of, even the best smoked Lapsang Souchong in the market is quite tannic and relatively coarse. Maybe that is why some describe it as being a man’s tea, with a certain sex-role presumption.

By contrast, in the traditional gongfu xiaozhong clean variety, the “longan” accent fares much smoothly in a much rounder, fuller body with ample floral tones in the symphony. However, I have to say that whatever this taste element people name as “longan”, it is part of some other Chinese black teas too, such as finer Dianhongs. The “longan” presence in the clean Lapsang Souchong is a more popular mention I think has a few other reasons:

• Darker colour tea liquor to associate with the same of dried longan
• Slightly burnt taste that makes the tea taste drier that associate with the dried fruit
• Slightly thinner in other taste elements, such as maltiness, floral tones and aromas that complement its notice

All varieties of traditional souchongs undergo an additional step of roasting at approx 200°C after “fermentation” for tighter twisting afterwards. In the region of Wuyi, where higher heat is consistently used in most tea production, this has become a kind of signature. The practice inevitably contribute to the first two reasons. As for the third, the leaf of the modern, heavily crossed bred xiaozhong cultivar innately deliver better strength after full “fermentation”, but thinner in other areas.

tasting note

I have always like my black tea amply strong. For the price difference, it is understandable that the smoked version when brewed to a good strength does not compare well to a “clean”, traditional gongfu souchong version. However, it is nevertheless a good character tea. If milk and/or sugar is part of the formula, making it even stronger is very much delectable as a very good tea. As with other broken grade black teas, use water at near boiling point.

As for the whole-leaf versions, 95°C is fine. Do refer to the guidelines in the “On Measurements” chapter. If you are after the “longan” taste, try using more leaves and shorter infusion time, especially in the first round, say 2~3 minutes. You won’t waste the tea, cause you can re-brew it.

Comparing the infused tealeaves of a traditional Lapsang Souchong, a smoked Lapsang Souchong, and a Bailin gongfu black tea made in the xioazhong style:

buying tips

I am certain that I’d always choose the non-smoked whole leaf version if I am to have a Lapsang Souchong. While a touch of smokiness maybe a character, overdose of it seems to me losing all the finer tastes and aromas which enjoyment is so vital in the whole idea of tea.

That said, however, the strength of the smokiness does deliver an impression that most other teas at around that price range would not be capable of, whether for the good or bad. If you know your guests would be in the mood, or if the food you are entertaining with is quite strong too, or if you yourself are very much into the taste, by all means find a best quality you can afford. The value of a tea is revealed in the taste difference, even under the spell of the pinewood smoke.

The price of an original, traditional whole leaf gongfu, “clean” version maybe costlier than the best genuinely pinewood smoked version from the authentic origin, even though the latter is getting a lot more expensive these days, due to increase in demand and fewer and fewer people producing it really the natural way in the origin — Wuyi oolongs and gongfu blacks have been in greater demand. Nevertheless, supply is never a worry if truthfulness to the authentic origin is not an issue.

Answer to the question in the caption on the previous page of this article:

From left to right, the teas are: Bailin Xiaozhong Gongfu, original Lapsang Souchong, and the smoked Lapsang Souchong.

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