Karen Dunlap

My friend Heather recently had surgery, and while recovering, rented tons of Pixar movies. Cartoons, she confesses, her indulgence. She asked what I would have watched. Looking around, I said softly, Masterpiece Theater with, ummm, a teapot of Lapsang Souchong. Have to tell you she looked horrified, she a film school graduate working on a major TV series. Laughing, she said I was probably alone, a camp of one. Am I? Have you SEEN the Forsyte Saga? Does anyone DRINK Lapsang Souchong anymore?

Say what you will about smoked teas, but I’m telling you we are hard wired to love the aroma of wood fires. Period. Why not exploit this instant sensation and feel good? Isn’t that why we really eat bacon?

I understood Lapsang Souchong in this new revelatory way, about a year ago, in the depths of heartache. God, I didn’t intend to feel better from drinking it, but I can tell you that breathing in campfire, something strong, primal like, welled up in me. I actually experienced a temporary relief. And discoveries like that, my friends, is really why tea drinking is great and surprising.

So, Lapsang Souchong, what’s the story on it? I thought I’d tell you the legend, with the caveat that smoked teas probably go back further than the 17th Century. But it is in the Wuyi Mountains, sometime during the Qing Dynasty that the smoked teas we drink today became to take form. I like the story; it reminds me that good things can come from unexpected circumstances.

The Legend of Lapsang Souchong

Time: Qing Dynasty (1644 –1912)
Setting: Wuyi Mountains, Fujian Province
Players: Army Unit, Tea Harvest Workers

The style of smoked tea became so popular that it began being copied all over China, which pissed off the tea growers in Wuyi – they invented it after all. So, to protect their regional style of smoky tea making and claim it as authentic, they began calling it Zengshan Xiaozhong, meaning “Real Wuyi Subvariety.” Over the years, our less melodic tongues in the West have changed the pronunciation to “Lapsang Souchong.”

Now where to buy some in 2010? Check out your local grocer, teahouse or favorite online tea vendor. Ask about their selection of smoked teas. If want to taste authentic Lapsang Souchong, specify you are looking for one from Wuyi region of Fujian Province. If you are open to smoked teas from other regions (why not?), just make sure they have undergone a process of being smoked over a wood fire. Avoid synthetic flavorings, really, treat yourself to the real thing.

In the last year, I’ve really liked the Lapsang at In Pursuit of Tea and The Tea Gallery.

This entry was posted Tuesday, January 26th, 2010 at 4:17 pm and is filed under Tea. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.