“Are you still feeling blue? Then drink Chinese tea.”
Over two hundred years ago, Lord Byron, the renowned British Romantic poet, wrote of his yearning for Eastern tea in his verses. The “Chinese tea” that soothed his melancholy is none other than Lapsang Souchong, the ancestor of all black tea. Grown in Tongmuguan of Wuyi Mountain in China, this ancient tea leaf crossed oceans, wowed the British royal family, and captivated the West for centuries. Carrying a 400‑year‑old legacy, it penned the opening chapter of global black tea history.
True Lapsang Souchong is never mass‑produced with industrial methods. Instead, it is a timeless tea aroma refined by nature, time, serendipity, and generations of craftsmanship.
Originating in the Ming Dynasty, its roots run deep in Tongmuguan, Wuyi Mountain, Fujian Province. Surrounded by mist‑shrouded mountains, this secluded land is where the Jiang clan settled and grew tea for generations, and where the world’s first black tea was born.
An accident during tea‑picking season in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties reshaped Chinese tea history. A troop of soldiers passed through Tongmuguan and spent the night on freshly plucked tea leaves. By the time they left, the leaves intended for green tea had oxidized and turned red.
Desperate not to waste a year’s harvest, the Jiang ancestors repeatedly kneaded the fermented red leaves, then dried them over fires fueled by resin‑rich masson pine abundant in Tongmuguan.
Flames licked the pinewood, releasing rich, thick pine smoke that permeated every tea leaf. What began as a desperate last resort unexpectedly created an unprecedented unique flavor: jet‑black, glossy tea leaves infused with a long‑lasting pine smoke aroma, paired with warm, mellow, sweet liquor.
Initially, the locals rejected this “unconventional” tea. Master Jiang carried his tea dozens of miles to Xingcun to sell at a low price. To his surprise, merchants returned the next year, buying the tea at many times the original price.
A stroke of luck forged an eternal classic.
Thus Lapsang Souchong, one of the world’s earliest black teas, was born. Later exported to Europe, it became a prized drink of the British royal household, the symbol of Chinese black tea in Western culture, and is universally recognized as the ancestor of black tea. Its 400‑year glory endures to this day.
Local tea farmers of Tongmuguan passed down a ballad that encapsulates the hardship of this heritage:
“Start tea work at seven, master withering in ten years.
Twenty years for fermentation, thirty to master roasting.
A lifetime to learn smoking and baking,
Only then can one craft true Souchong.”
Authentic smoked Lapsang Souchong is far more than simple smoke‑roasting. It is an ultimate flavor shaped by centuries of craftsmanship, rare mountain‑grown raw tea, and lifelong expertise of veteran tea masters.
The key to preserving genuine Tongmuguan smoked flavor lies in an almost lost ancient technique: smoke‑roasting in Qinglou (tea‑processing wooden attics).
Far from a place of leisure, Qinglou is a three‑story wooden tea‑processing attic exclusive to Tongmuguan tea farmers, the soul workshop of traditional smoked Lapsang Souchong, and a craft code guarded by generations of tea artisans. Meticulously built for tea production, each floor serves a unique purpose, blending pine smoke perfectly with tea leaves:
• 1st Floor: Drying Room
Open flames of masson pine dry the tea leaves for final shaping. Heat and smoke rise steadily to fully dehydrate the leaves.
• 2nd Floor: Temperature‑Controlled Smoking Chamber
Adjustable wooden doors regulate smoke and temperature. Pine smoke drifts gently through smoke ducts, evenly coating tea leaves on racks and infusing smoke deep into the tea structure.
• 3rd Floor: Withering Room
Separated from the second floor by bamboo mats, tea leaves are withered by mild residual pine smoke heat, laying the base of pine smoke aroma from the very first step.
Every detail of this process is strictly controlled.
Only high‑quality local masson pine rich in pine resin is used for burning. Only such firewood can produce pure, mellow, clean pine smoke aroma, free from harsh, chaotic fumes.
Every step — from withering, rolling, fermentation, high‑heat fixation, charcoal baking to smoke‑roasting — is largely hand‑crafted. No standardized machine parameters define the process; everything relies on the touch, observation, and experience of seasoned tea masters. The slightest deviation in heat, smoke, time, or temperature would ruin the true essence of Lapsang Souchong.
This is the irreplaceable preciousness of Tongmuguan Smoked Souchong.
Tongxin She proudly presents its 2023 Tongmuguan Smoked Lapsang Souchong, aged for four years. A vintage smoked Souchong, it is a rare treasure worthy of daily drinking and collection.
Fresh smoked Souchong features bold, sharp pine smoke aroma. After four years of patient aging, this tea has shed its youthful harshness and undergone exquisite flavor transformation:
Dry Tea
Tightly twisted and slender leaves, jet‑black and glossy with no impurities. On the nose, once‑intense pine smoke has mellowed into a soft, restrained, subtle lingering scent.
Brewing
Pour boiling water; the liquor instantly turns bright amber‑red, clear and translucent with no turbidity. Warm pine smoke rises gently with steam, elegant and long‑lasting, neither faint nor pungent.
Tasting
Incredibly smooth on entry with zero astringency, the warm liquor glides across the tongue.
First, soft pine smoke settles gently in the liquor rather than floating on the surface. Next comes the sweet mellow longan broth note, velvety and sweet. Finally, a faint woody fruit aroma lingers subtly.
After swallowing, a refreshing coolness spreads across the mouth — a unique mountain vitality exclusive to high‑altitude Tongmuguan black tea. Pine smoke, longan sweetness, and fresh fruit notes interweave, leaving a long‑lasting aftertaste on the throat. Warmth spreads from the heart to the whole body, comforting the stomach and soothing the soul.
No longer the bold sharpness of fresh tea, it delivers an elevated flavor: soft smoke fully infused in liquor, smoke harmonizing perfectly with sweetness. Connoisseurs understand its true charm: pine smoke deep in leaves, longan sweetness in every sip.
From an accidental discovery in Tongmuguan 400 years ago to an Eastern treasure adored by European royalty; from a desperate remedy by the Jiang ancestors to time‑honored craftsmanship upheld by generations; from bold smoke of newly roasted tea to soft elegance after four years of aging.
This 2023 Tongmuguan Smoked Lapsang Souchong embodies the authentic origin of black tea, carries profound tea culture, and holds the warmth and peace nurtured by time.
Perfect for solitary sipping on rainy nights, warming your body on cold days, chatting with old friends, or collection by tea connoisseurs.
Pine smoke endures, heritage continues, time brews fragrance, and sincerity never fades.
Tongxin She’s 2023 Tongmuguan Smoked Lapsang Souchong
4‑Year Aged | Ancient Qinglou Smoke‑Roasted | Soft Pine Smoke | Sweet Longan Broth
Now available. Embark on a tea journey tracing back to the origin of black tea.
For purchase & tasting: www.txs‑tea.com