Zhengshan Xiaozhong
正山小种 · Lapsang Souchong
Black
In 1646 soldiers came through the Tongmu valley in the middle of the harvest. The villagers fled and left green tea half made on the racks.
When they came back the leaf was too far gone to finish as green, so they dried it fast over burning pinewood to save the crop. The smoke stayed in it. What they had accidentally made was the ancestor of every black tea in the world.
Everything that came after, Keemun, Assam, Darjeeling, Ceylon, descends from that panic. Deep and resinous, pine smoke over dried longan, and you will find something like smoked paprika underneath it.
- pine smoke
- dried longan
- resin
- Origin
- Tongmu, Wuyi, Fujian, China
- Water
- 95°C / 203°F
- Ratio
- 4.5 g / 100 ml
- Caffeine
- Medium
- Rinse
- Not needed
origin of all black tea; Tongmu GI core
How much leaf
Gong fu brewing is leaf-heavy and short. Set your gaiwan or pot size and this is what to weigh out.
Vessel volume
100 ml
Recommended dose
Use ~4.5g of tea
The session
6 infusions, about 3m 50s of total contact time.
- Steep 120sSmoke drifts up before the leaf.
- Steep 225sPine resin sharpens the first sip.
- Steep 330sDried longan sweetens the smoke.
- Steep 440sA smoked-paprika warmth widens.
- Steep 550sThe smoke softens into sweet wood.
- Steep 61m 5sResin lingers, dark and clean.
Also sold as
Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong, Smoked Souchong, Tong Mu
Steaper times this session for you
A countdown per infusion, a gong when each one is up, and the whole library in your pocket. Coming to iPhone.
Get notified at launchThese numbers are a median of independent gong fu sources, not a law. Leaf age, vessel and water all move them. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.