Today, the communiTEA is drinking...

Lapsang Souchong is a black tea from the Fujian province of China, famous for its smoky aroma and flavor, produced in the Wuyi Mountain region that also gives the world its most celebrated rock oolongs. To create the smoke, the finished tea is given extra drying over a burning pine fire — the pine smoke penetrates the leaf and imparts a sweet, clean smokiness that is fundamentally different from the harsh, acrid character that badly smoked Lapsang produces.

Lapsang Souchong sometimes gets a bad reputation for being brashly smoky, but really fine examples aren't like that at all. Our Lapsang Souchong is very approachable: clean and slightly cool smokiness in the aroma, like menthol. Sweet, refreshing smoky flavor, crisp and edgy. A golden-coppery color in the cup — the mark of a Lapsang that hasn't been smoked to a jerky. Sweet pine flavor, lightly savory, with a clean finish that invites the next sip rather than demanding a glass of water.