Lapsang Souchong

Lapsang Souchong is something of an acquired taste — and a remarkable one at that. Ours comes from the Fujian Province of China, where it is made using traditional methods passed down over generations. The leaves are smoke-dried over pinewood fires, which imparts the crisp, resinous, intensely smoky flavour and aroma the tea is famous for.

The leaves are more mature, hand-plucked from smaller-leaf bushes grown at altitude in the Xingchun region, where varied temperatures produce leaves full of character and depth.

In the Fukienese dialect, 'souchong' refers to a sub-variety of tea leaf — specifically the more mature leaves hand-picked from smaller-leaf bushes during peak harvest in early May.