Organic Lapsang Souchong Black Tea

This organic, Fair Trade Certified tea from the Fujian province of China is smoked during manufacture, giving it a distinctive flavor and aroma, sometimes referred to as tarry. It has a light body, with a smooth crisp character and a very prominent, heady aroma of a pine wood fire.

Legend claims that the smoking process that produces this remarkable tea was discovered by accident. During the Qing dynasty, an army unit passing through the village of Xingcun camped in a tea factory filled with fresh leaves awaiting processing. When the soldiers left and the workers could get back into the factory, they realized that to arrive at market in time, it was too late to dry the leaves in the usual fashion. So they lit open fires of pine wood to hasten the drying. Not only did the tea reach the market in time, but the smoked pine flavor created a sensation! Today, the tea is dried over smoking pine fires in order to absorb the smoke flavor. Lapsang Souchong is generally consumed with sugar, milk and/or lemon.

Sustainability is a cornerstone of Arbor Teas’ business philosophy. In addition to offering an exclusively organic selection of teas, they recently became the first tea company to offer their whole catalog in 100% backyard compostable packaging. They’ve also carbon-offset the entire supply chain of their products, from origin to the customer, making Arbor Teas the greenest option for Earth-conscious tea drinkers, and one of few tea companies recognized by Green America.