Tea Origins: The True History of Lapsang Souchong
Lapsang Souchong, also known as 'Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong', is by far the most popular black tea in China. While the milder version is commonly enjoyed within the country, the traditional version is renowned worldwide for its bold, smoky aroma. Invented during the late Ming Dynasty, it's regarded as the first black tea in history, with over four centuries of tradition and craftsmanship.
In this article, we’ll explore the fascinating origins of Lapsang Souchong, its accidental discovery, and how it became a favourite among European royalty during the 17th century.
The First Black Tea: A Creation of Necessity
According to domestic records from the Qing Dynasty and shipping logs of the Dutch East India Company, Lapsang Souchong was already on the market in the early 17th century, when Dutch traders exported it from China to Europe.
The origins of this tea remain uncertain, but several legends trace its invention to the Tongmu Village in Wuyishan. The most well-known tale dates back to the late Ming Dynasty (late 16th century). During the tea-picking season, a group of soldiers arrived and occupied the homes of local tea farmers in Tongmu.
While this was a troubling event, it inadvertently led to the invention of Lapsang Souchong. Here's how it happened:
At the time, the villagers' homes were filled with freshly harvested green tea leaves, but the soldiers’ unexpected arrival disrupted the tea processing. Unable to complete the drying process on time, the farmers, desperate to prevent the leaves from spoiling, used the abundant local pine wood to roast the tea quickly.
This improvised method resulted in a dark, oily, and fully oxidized tea, giving birth to the first black tea in history. There's another related legend of the 'Greedy Bandits', which you can read on our non-smoked Lapsang Souchong tea page.
The true origins of this black tea may remain a mystery. However, its creation was likely driven by the demand for tea with a longer shelf life compared to traditional green tea.
Note that this tea is known as 'Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong' in China, while Lapsang Souchong is derived from the Fuzhou dialect.
Gaining Popularity in Europe
While the discovery of black tea, was a significant event, it has never been a local favourite until the 21st Century in China. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, green tea remained the most popular tea type. However, Lapsang Souchong became a royal's favourite in Europe.
The first recorded mention of black tea, likely still a semi-oxidized variety, comes from a letter written by a Portuguese missionary (Father Gaspar da Cruz) to his king. However, it was Dutch merchants who played a key role in introducing black tea to Europe, especially France, Germany, and England.
Lapsang Souchong was popular as an export tea for 2 important reasons:
- Fully oxidized black tea enjoyed a longer shelf life and could endure the harsh conditions during the long voyage.
- Its bold flavours made it ideal to drink with sugar, milk and/or spices.
Thus, if the legends are true, it's likely that the farmers weren't able to offer their tea to local Chinese, but were able to sell them to the Dutch traders.
The spread of black tea in the UK can be attributed to a Portuguese figure: Princess Catherine of Portugal, who became the future Queen of England. When she married King Charles II in 1662, her dowry included several boxes of Lapsang Souchong black tea. Before her arrival, tea had not yet made its mark in England, but thanks to the Princess's influence, drinking black tea, especially Lapsang Souchong, quickly became an essential part of life for the British royal family. It was a luxury enjoyed only by the wealthy, but later on, it gradually spread across the ordinary people.
As a result, Lapsang Souchong played an important role in shaping the Western taste for black tea over green tea. No wonder the Dutch traders went back for more!
Widespread Black Tea Production
As Lapsang Souchong was well-received in Europe, tea farmers in other regions of China began experimenting with its processing methods, leading to the introduction of several new black teas.
Perhaps the most well known is the Keemun black tea, which originated in 1876, produced based on a similar processing method. Its introduction turned out to be highly successful, as Keemun black tea is a very popular black tea today. Over time, the production of black tea spread across the tea regions, leading to the introduction of Dian Hong (Yunnan Gold) and Yingde Hong from the Guangdong province.
Due to the high demand for black tea, India became the world's leading black tea producer during the 19th century.
The Smoky Aroma
As Lapsang Souchong is the first documented black tea, it holds immense historical and cultural value. For over four hundred years, the production process has been passed down from generation to generation, always adhering to the traditional production process.
The withering and drying processes in the designed smoking houses called Qinglou are the key to the unique quality of this black tea. Tea farmers use local pine wood and slowly smoke tea over a low fire so that the aroma of pine smoke penetrates its leaves, finally achieving the unique flavor of Zhengshan Xiaozhong black tea's "pine smoke fragrance, longan soup".
Lapsang Souchong Varieties
At the turn of the 21st century, a non-smoked version of Lapsang Souchong was introduced in response to the Chinese market. Indeed, many Chinese consumers found the traditional smokiness of Lapsang Souchong unappealing, even though it was so popular in Europe. The new non-smoked variant matched local preferences and rapidly became the most popular version of Lapsang Souchong in China.
In modern times, tea farmers have also experimented with applying this black tea production process to other tea cultivars, such as this Yellow Rose Lapsang Souchong.