Lapsong Souchong (正山小種 - Upright mountain small type) in the Fuzhou Dialect is a classic Chinese "Smokey Tea". The story says that the tea was created accidentally in the WuYi mountains in 1645, when to avoid advancing Qing Soldiers, villagers quickly dried freshly plucked tea leaves over a fire to dry them before burying them. When they returned the leaves were sold to Dutch traders who requested more.
Our Formosa Lapsang Souchong production begins by withering the freshly picked tea over pine and oak fires. The leaves are then pan fired and each leaf rolled by hand before being pressed and covered by cloths in wooden barrels. After fermenting, the leaves are then rolled again and hung in bamboo baskets over burning pine boughs to dry. The resultant flavour of smoky pine and oak fires, combined with the high quality of leaf used, makes Formosa Lapsang Souchong one of the world's finest teas.
Origin: Nantou County, Taiwan
Elevation: Grown 1000 to 2000ft ft. above sea level
Tea Variety: Camellia Sinensis var. Sinensis
Brewing Temperature: 100°C
Caffeine Content: Approx. 27- 35mg per cup
Sold in quantities of 100g