The Chinese Lapsang Souchong was the tea to be drunk in the 1870's. It was raced back to Britain and America on the famous Clippers 'Cutty Sark' and the 'Flying Cloud'.
Allegedly, Lapsang tea was created during the Qing era, in the Wuyi Mountain, when a passing army delayed the annual tea leaf drying process. Anxious to meet the high demand for their tea, they tried to speed up this process by drying them in open pans over fires made with wood from local pine trees, thus creating a new tea.
Withering the leaves over open fires of pine needles produces Lapsang Souchong. The tea drinks well with salty and spicy dishes and also tastes wonderful when drunk black, with cheese. The tea does not taste how you would imagine a smoky tea would taste and actually has a very delicate flavour.
This grade, the Superior, is the highest grade Chinese Lapsang available and was the tea of choice for Winston Churchill.
