Lapsang Souchong Tea

Lapsang Souchong is from the Wuyi mountains, in the Fujian Province region of China. The black tea uses a traditional process of smoking the leaves over pine wood to give it the unique smell and taste that makes it a distinctive natural flavouring. This is not an artificial flavouring or oil you might find in industrial tea bags - it is made with quality ingredients.

Our Lapsang Souchong Loose Leaf black tea tastes deep and smoky. Rare Tea Company offers three distinct options of Chinese Lapsang Souchong: a Tarry Lapsang Souchong, a Rare Lapsang Souchong, and a Mild Lapsang Souchong. Each different type of tea offers a variety of flavours in taste, with a wonderful smoky aroma, plus a rich, bold flavour in each infusion.

Our Rare Lapsang Souchong black tea has notes of wood, peat, and smoke, similar to a refined malt whisky. With the savoury wood smoke included in the production of the tea, the sweet notes of caramel emerge in each cup.

Rare Tea's Tarry Lapsang Souchong tea tastes stronger than other Lapsang Souchong teas. More rich compounds emerge from the flavour profile, with a warm and comforting experience, like sitting by an open fire. A strong infusion with a silky drop of milk is preferred by many of our customers. With a drop of whiskey and honey, this black tea also makes a delicious hot toddy.

Our Mild Lapsang Souchong is between these two distinct black teas, tasting of deep smoke but also containing a lighter, silky aftertaste. With notes of peat and smoke, some customers also enjoy adding a drop of milk to this infusion of tea.

Lapsang Souchong is good for you when consumed as part of a healthy lifestyle. We are often asked what the health benefits of drinking tea are - we are not scientists or doctors, but we know that tea can be a healthy choice compared to many beverages. Tea contains polyphenols, a type of antioxidant, which can help the body reduce inflammation naturally, while other teas contain minerals, including potassium, calcium and iron. Additionally, tea does contain L-theanine, which is an amino acid which might boost mood. We do not want to healthwash - but many articles do highlight the potential health benefits of drinking tea regularly. Since Lapsang Souchong black tea contains caffeine, it is important to remain hydrated by drinking water.

How long you steep Lapsang tea depends on whether or not you add milk and which Lapsang Souchong black tea you purchase from us.

• For our Rare Lapsang Souchong loose leaf black tea, use 85°C (185°F) water and infuse for one minute - we recommend enjoying it without milk.
• For our Mild Lapsang Souchong loose leaf black tea, infusion depends on whether you want to add milk or not. To enjoy without milk, infuse for 1-2 minutes with water at a temperature of 80 degrees celsius. To enjoy with milk, use water at 90-95°C (194-203°F), while infusing for 2-3 minutes.
• For our Tarry Lapsang Souchong loose leaf black tea, infusion depends on whether you want to add milk or not. To enjoy without milk, infuse for 1-2 minutes with water at a temperature of 80 degrees celsius. To enjoy with milk, use water at 90-95°C (194-203°F), while infusing for 1-2 minutes, tasting regularly.

Lapsang Souchong tea has caffeine, just like all black tea. The camellia sinensis tea plant naturally contains caffeine, meaning that all of our teas, except of our naturally caffeine-free herbal infusions, contain some caffeine. Depending on infusion time, temperature, and other factors, the precise amount of caffeine infused into your cup can vary greatly.

A tea similar to Lapsang Souchong is our Malawi Mountain Moto black tea. This hand rolled black tea is smoked over guava leaves in the Thyolo Mountains of Malawi. Like Lapsang Souchong, it is a sweet, aromatic, and smoky tea, although it has less of the pine-smoked notes in comparison.