#fujiantea

Lapsang Souchong.

A tea not well known to the common western tea drinker. But for those who have come across it, having tasted it or just smelt it, it’s an unforgettable tea for better or worse. This tea is one where I find you are either love and adore it or you flat out can’t stand it. No real middle ground!

I myself happen to fall on the side of those who love it. Lapsang is a staple in my collection. The malty and smokey leaf is always on hand for drinking and cooking. And so this past boxing day when putting together a final order for 2021 from White2Tea, I decided to try some of their variations of the classic tea.

Besides hailing from Wuyi in the Fujian province of China, in normal White2Tea fashion, not much else is known about this tea. Leaving totally up to my taste buds to uncover it’s secrets.

Through the session it was clear that is Lapsang was very different from your everyday variety. First apparent on the dry leaf was an incredibly savory profile of smoked meats, tangy BBQ sauce charred wood and burning charcoals. Sweeter notes appeared on the wet leaf, with a deeper, more intense smoke yet still not overpowering, dry charred wood and hickory.

The brew is thick and viscous. The traditional smoke is present, but not the main character. Besides smoke the first thing I noticed was an unexpected vegetal flavor like peas and carrots, charred pine wood and a lovely finish of woodsy musk. The second infusion revealed less vegetal notes and more of a richer grain like barley and a sweetness of pipe tobacco.

The aftertaste coats the tongue with a savory sweetness and a lingering taste of barley and pine smoke. after six infusions, the tea became even sweeter with a nice balance of smoke without it being overpowering or underwhelming. A Lapsang that went from tangy and meaty, to sweet and savory to woodsy and vegetal and finally to sweet and smokey, it performed unlike any Lapsang I’ve had before. I have another Lapsang I purchased on deck and can’t wait to see how it matches up to this one.