Smoked Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong

Smoked Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong is better known in the West as ‘Lapsang Souchong’, but this is not your back-of-the-tea-cabinet leftover, oh no. Rather than the taste of bottled fire, the leaves here have been given a very careful smoking that slips one easily into another environment: think of an old barn in the countryside, aged wood soaked with years of sheltering, or a lightning-struck tree whose hollow you might have sat in, or the morning after a carnival bonfire. The tea soup swirls the aroma gently around in a texture that retains the bouillon mouthfeel, red fruit, and malt of unsmoked renditions, with a creamy touch. While an appreciation for smokiness may be a prerequisite, one doesn’t have to fear the sting of overwhelming tar. Smoked tea as it should be.