Qinglou: The Secret Behind Smoked Lapsang Souchong

In Tongmu village, situated in the Wuyi Mountains, dedicated structures known as Qinglou are specifically built to smoke the iconic Lapsang Souchong black tea.

Everything about these buildings are fascinating. The creaking wood echoes the passage of time, and soft streams of light filter through, illuminating a tea-making scene seemingly frozen in history.

Join us, as we explore the art of smoking Lapsang Souchong and uncover the secrets behind these unique tea-processing buildings.

Tongmu Village & Qinglou

Tongmu Village, the birthplace of black tea, is known for its unique three-story wooden buildings. These structures, used for withering and drying tea leaves, are known as "Qinglou," a term that interestingly translates to "brothel." The name stems from their resemblance to the traditional wooden brothel houses of ancient China.

Tea leaves are smoked with pine wood in these three-story buildings to develop the iconic smoked taste. But how does this tea differ from other black teas, and how can the Qinglou affect it?

Traditional Smoked Lapsang Souchong Processing

The primary processing of black tea typically includes several key steps: harvesting, withering, rolling, oxidation, and drying. However, smoked Lapsang Souchong adds an extra step: roasting after oxidation. This halts the oxidation process quickly, while enhancing its aroma. Additionally, the withering and drying steps in traditional Lapsang Souchong production are unique as they involve smoking with pine wood, and this is where the Qinglou smoking houses play a crucial role.

Withering

These wooden structures have a ground floor containing a stove and fire pit. The stove burns pine wood, and the hot smoke passes through vents to the upper floors. Freshly picked tea leaves are withered on the Qinglou's second floor for 7-8 hours. Bamboo mats separate the first floor from the second one where the withering occurs, and hot pine smoke penetrates through the gaps in the bamboo mats to wither the fresh leaves. There is a wooden door in front and behind the second floor, and the temperature can be adjusted by opening and closing them.

Drying

On the other hand, the first floor has the highest temperature and is used for the final processing step, drying. Pine smoke is guided through vents and flue pipes from the ground floor, emerging in the first-floor room, where tea leaves have been placed over bamboo trays.

The Qinglou is essential for producing the traditional smoked Lapsang Souchong. Thanks to the smoking process between these building walls, the tea acquires aromas of pine smoke and longan fruit, delivering a sweet and refreshing aftertaste that lingers pleasantly in the throat. Only dry Tongmu pine wood should be used to smoke the leaves, although humid timber is sometimes used for lower-quality tea.

A Challenging Processing

Processing smoked Lapsang Souchong isn’t easy, as controlling the crucial withering step is particularly challenging, even for tea masters. Besides the physically demanding labour, managing the smoke temperature is complex and needs highly skilled professionals. Indeed, there is a serious chance of burning the leaves, resulting in economic loss. Moreover, Qinglou are limited; usually, only large factories have them.

Many small farmers often process their tea in the common black tea way and wither and roast it without smoke. Only after roasting the tea leaves, they transport the tea to a Qinglou for smoke drying.

The traditional processing of smoked Laspang Souchong is challenging, demanding, and expensive, making the tea even more precious. Moreover, regulations for environmental safeguards limit the construction of new Qinglou and the overuse of Tongmu pine wood. Thus, the production of smoked Lapsang Souchong tea is limited. For these reasons, Lapsang Souchong has become a symbol of Tongmu Village’s tea-making legacy.