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“TeaTiff Traveling Tea Box | No. 15 I have to say, I was disappointed by this one. It was very, very light. Barely anything more than hot, lightly smoky water really. I’m sure it must have something...” Read full tasting note
“I purchased this tea back in 2021 and it was the first Lapsang Souchong I tried. I had it along with it’s un-smoked variant and I was impressed by how nice it was. This has what I’d call a medium...” Read full tasting note
NOTES — PINE SMOKE | DATE | COATING
ZI RAN SMOKE is a zhengshan xiaozhong—or, lapsang souchong—production from Tongmu, Fujian province, China. This lot comes to us from Zi Ran Hong, a centuries-old smokehouse about 4 hours from Wuyi national park. Zi Ran—"natural"—is a name with dual meanings: first, that the tea is naturally smoked-to-dry (as opposed to large scale lapsang production, where huge batches of finished tea are dry-smoked). More deeply, and absolutely Chinese, this tea’s namesake describes its fully-integrated self. Lapsang is, first, black tea (in Zi Ran Hong, “hong” = “red”. Red tea is what we understand as black tea in the west). The tea is then smoked with a type of pine (Tongmu) endemic to the mountain, making this zhengshan xiaozhong a complete product of its namesake. ZI RAN SMOKE is the embodiment of this self-contained tea making philosophy, and represents a very old tea making tradition.
Distinguished from commodity lapsang by this smoke-to-dry process, ZI RAN SMOKE is first hand-plucked from wild-growing xingcun xiaozhong cultivar tea trees, withered, hand-rolled in cloth, and left to oxidize fully in bamboo baskets with no yaoxing ("shaking"—a process that accelerates oxidation). The tea is lastly dried in a dedicated smoking room (qing lou—"green house") using tongmu wood burned under the floor.
Tongmuguan has been a protected UNESCO site since 1979. The pine forests are nationally protected, with imposed limits on how much can be harvested. All the land in Tongmu is accounted for by long-time residents—Zi Ran Hong is in its third generation of tea making. Without sponsorship from a resident, tourists are not permitted in the preserve. Our ongoing partnership with Zhao Cong at Zi Ran Hong grants us rare access to one of Fujian’s best-protected treasures.
ZI RAN SMOKE is tea first; the base material presents vividly through the smoke, skillfully applied by Zhao to uplift and accent rather than conceal the tea. The harsh weather and alpine terrain of the Wuyi region make for stressed teas with distinct high-mountain character and strong yan yun (“rock quality”)—this hongcha is no exception. Steep hot and fast for the intended experience. Expect rock sugar, date, and of course, pine.
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TeaTiff Traveling Tea Box | No. 15
I have to say, I was disappointed by this one. It was very, very light. Barely anything more than hot, lightly smoky water really. I’m sure it must have something to do with the way I steeped it. There aren’t any other tasting notes, so I’m curious to see how others enjoy it later on.
I purchased this tea back in 2021 and it was the first Lapsang Souchong I tried. I had it along with it’s un-smoked variant and I was impressed by how nice it was. This has what I’d call a medium level of smoke applied to it. It’s not overdone and overpowering like you’d see from other vendors. I feel like Hugo takes a lot of pride in finding a really good base tea and they want you to be able to taste a bit of the tea itself.
The tea is very smokey and pine forward, but you get hints of the sweetness of the black tea and a little bit of the tannin from it. The smoke is a little more tangy, closer to mesquite than the typical piney acidity. It is a really well crafted tea.
I have revisited this tea many times, gone through about 200 grams of it, and purchased it again in 2022. Every time I purchased a new Lapsang, I try it for a week and then compare it to this. Over the years, it has lost a significant amount of it’s kick. I still very much enjoy it, but I really wish Hugo would restock this tea with stock from this year. I will leave this not recommended as I see the site doesn’t have stock past 2022 and I really think you should try this tea while it is in its prime. As it stands, my 2022 stock is closer to a ranking of 85, but I ranked it around a 95 when it was fresh and punchy.
Flavors: Pine, Smoke, Sweet, Tangy, Tannin
