ORIGIN: Tongmuguan, Wuyishan, Fujian, China
AMOUNT: 50g
DESCRIPTION: This is a cup of Songyan Souchong black tea from Tongmuguan Zhengshan.
The traditional production process of Lapsang Souchong is very complicated, but this is its uniqueness, something that is not found in modern industry. Tongmu is a small village with only more than 360 tea farmers. The annual output of Lapsang souchong is less than 100,000 kilograms. In order to meet the needs of the market, the amount of pine smoke souchong that can adhere to traditional crafts is very limited. Tongxinshe Teahouse goes to Tongmuguan every year. To ensure the authentic origin, we hope to make it truly belong to Paulownia.
The 400-year-old traditional tea-making technology has been carried forward. Lapsang's good tea has been pure since ancient times, and this purity will continue to be continued and strengthened. It is precisely because of this that a cup of pine smoke souchong from Lapsang is even more precious!
This smoked souchong is from 2022. After 2 years of aging, its pine smoke aroma has changed from strong to soft, and the aroma enters the water and blends with the longan soup. Pure pine smoke with a hint of fruity aroma. After brewing, the aroma spreads. The entrance is smooth, the aroma of pine smoke and fruit wood blends into the tea soup, and when you take a sip, you will find the sweet longan flavor. After a few sips, you can feel a slight cooling sensation in your mouth, which is also a unique feeling when drinking Paulownia black tea.
When Zhang Tianfu, a leader in the tea industry, commented on the smoking process of Lapsang Souchong, he said: "Lapsang Souchong is the only child of China, and it is also the only child of Wuyi Mountain." , look at that brothel, it is impossible to understand its uniqueness.
When you walk into Tongmu Village, the birthplace of black tea in the world, you will find rows of row houses with wooden structures and loft shapes, either standing in the village or hidden among the tea mountains. The locals commonly call them " Brothel".
Decoding Paulownia “Qing Lou”
Brother Yang from Tongmuguan told me that black tea production has two major processes: rough processing and fine processing. Withering, rolling, fermentation, and drying are all rough processing steps. The "brothel" is used for the rough processing of Lapsang Souchong black tea. Factory building. According to the introduction: “The structure of Qing Lou is mostly three or four layers, and each layer has its own special function.
The first floor is a drying room mainly used for roasting tea leaves; the second floor is a control room to adjust the temperature of the entire factory by opening and closing wooden doors; the third floor is a withering room, which is mainly used to dry tea greens evenly on bamboo mats for withering. . The outer floors of the third and fourth floors of "Qing Lou" are used to dry tea leaves during the tea picking season. Masson pine firewood is usually piled in front of "Qing Lou" because the pine wood is not only burned during the drying process in the tea making process, but also heated and withered at the beginning. Therefore, the Lapsang Souchong black tea produced by traditional craftsmanship can be tasted lightly. Pine smoke aroma.
Introduction to Smoked Souchong
The 400-year-old Lapsang Souchong (smoked souchong) production process gives it a unique flavor of pine smoke and longan. Using ancient Wuyi trees as raw materials, traditional smoking techniques are used. The entire production process is completed in the smoke of masson pine, which penetrates into the bone marrow of the tea and has a profound heritage. Traditional smoking requires "eating" three passes of smoke in a brothel: first, the fresh leaves "eat smoke" when they are withering. The pine smoke is absorbed into the leaves through the nutrient transmission function of the tea stems and penetrates into the bones; second, The first way is to "eat smoke" during drying to allow the pine wood aroma to permeate; the third way is to smoke the tea leaves during re-baking to make the pine wood aroma and tea leaves more integrated. Due to the control of pine wood in the protected area in the past two years, Lapsang Souchong that can completely maintain traditional craftsmanship is even more precious. High-quality raw materials, high-quality pine wood, high-quality craftsmanship, and high-quality storage can create an authentic Lapsang Souchong.