Lapsang Souchong for Autumn Afternoons

Lapsang Souchong is the one tea that I could always get a reaction out of in the tea room.  It is the one tea that people either loved or hated.  It was somewhat comical to watch, hiding behind the kitchen door, as genteel ladies swallowed it with wry faces or not so genteel people spit it out with fervor.

You could see those that loved it.  Their eyes would half close and they would take in deep breathes of the fragrant steam as it rose from the vintage cups.  Often a few precious ounces would be purchased and carried home.

What in the world could create such a varied response?

Lapsang Souchong is a unique tea that has a smoky flavor.  It smells like autumn; leaves burning, campfires, and a certain crispness.  I always associate it with my uncle who smoked a pipe even though it smells nothing like his pipe tobacco, it is elusive, exotic and comforting all at the same time.

How Lapsang Souchong is Made

Lapsang is a black tea which was originally from the Wuyi region.   It get’s it’s distinctive smoky aroma and flavor when it is smoked over pinewood fires.  Lapsong  leaves have been  smoke dried over these fire since the Qing dynasty.  The story goes that armies passing through the area decided to camp in the place where the tea leaves were generally dried and processed.  This  caused the farmers to run late with harvesting and drying the tea leaves.  Because they were in a hurry they decided to speed up the process by smoking the  leaves over fires in order to get their teas to market.  Not only did they get the tea to the market but it was such a sensation that they continued to create it that way.

The producers first allow the leaves to wither over smoky fires of pine or cypress wood. After that they are pan fried and rolled and then pressed tightly into a wooden barrel.  WHen they begin to give off a pleasant aroma the leaves are fried one more time and rolled into strips.  They are placed in bamboo baskets and hung on wooden racks over smoking pine fires to finish drying and absorb the flavor of the pine smoke.

Taste

The taste of this is hard to describe.  To me it is a masculine tea. Strong  and independent, bold and comforting.  Oddly I can describe it more as a feel than a taste.  It does have a smokey flavor..bacon, camp fires…if you have ever eaten a marshmallow that you have toasted on pine or cedar wood then you will understand the complexity of the flavors in this tea.

This is not a tea to sip while you nibble on a cookie or a scone.  This is more a tea to drink while you are eating a ham and swiss sandwich on black rye bread.  It really is at its best when drunk on its own, with no competing flavors.

I like it.  The only thing to do is to order some and if you don’t like it you can use it as a marinade for barbeque.   In fact, it makes a great substitute for liquid smoke in any recipe!

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