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Lapsang Souchong - A Mountain That Became a Word
Description
Lapsang Souchong is a cup that deepens in colour almost as soon as the water hits the leaves — amber, copper, then a dark red-brown. The leaves themselves are long and dark, with a faint sheen as if they spent time near a fire. Lift the cup and the first thing you find is smoke: pine fire, old wood, leather, and a dark sweetness underneath. This style of tea comes from the Wuyi mountains in Fujian, and in the eighteenth century, those mountains gave English a word — Bohea. It started as a name for somewhere rare, and ended up meaning something ordinary, by being wanted. What else becomes ordinary only because enough people decide to keep it?
Today's cup: Lapsang Souchong — Camellia sinensis, smoked over pinewood. 1 tsp, 200mL, 100°C, three minutes. It takes a second infusion.
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A tea and a musing every weekday morning.
Before It Begins is made by Impala & Peacock Artisan Teas, blended by hand in Melbourne. To join our tea ritual - click here.