Bamboo Forest Lapsang Souchong 竹林小种 (2026)
Tea Profile
Type: Black Tea (Zhengshan Xiaozhong 正山小种 / Lapsang Souchong)
Location: Guanping Village 关坪村, Tongmu Guan 桐木关, Wuyishan, Fujian
Altitude: Approx. 1,300 m
Harvest Date: April 28, 2026
Cultivar: Qizhong 奇种
Age of Tea Trees: Around 50 years
The Story of This Tea
This Zhengshan Xiaozhong comes from Guanping Village in Tongmu Guan, the historic home of the black tea tradition that gave rise to Zhengshan Xiaozhong. At approximately 1,300 metres elevation, the tea gardens sit among mountain forest and extensive bamboo within the Wuyishan National Nature Reserve.
The Qizhong bushes used for this 2026 harvest are around 50 years old. Growing slowly in the cool high-mountain environment, they produce a tea with a particularly quiet and refined character. Rather than relying on powerful fruit or floral intensity, this tea expresses its origin through clarity, gentle sweetness and a distinctive bamboo-like freshness.
Qizhong 奇种 is part of Wuyishan’s traditional local tea heritage and is less commonly encountered than many modern named cultivars. Here, its restrained fragrance and elegant texture work particularly well with the environment of Guanping, producing a Zhengshan Xiaozhong that feels light, balanced and precise.
The bamboo surrounding the growing area is an important part of the sensory character we associate with this tea. Its fragrance is not heavy or perfumed, but fresh and clean, recalling bamboo leaves and cool mountain air. The result is one of the more subtle expressions of Tongmu black tea in our collection.
Aroma and Flavour
The fragrance is gentle and immediately fresh, led by bamboo leaf with light mountain florals underneath. The liquor is bright golden-red, clear and lively, with a natural sweetness that develops gradually rather than appearing heavily at the front of the cup.
The body is soft and silky, light in weight but still coating enough to give the tea presence. A subtle mineral quality provides structure, while the bamboo-like freshness continues through the finish.
Each infusion unfolds quietly and evenly. Rather than dramatic changes from steep to steep, the tea maintains clarity, sweetness and balance, making it particularly calming and easy to drink over a long session.
- Aroma: Fresh bamboo leaf with light mountain florals
- Flavour: Smooth, naturally sweet and clean with gentle mineral depth
- Texture: Soft, silky and balanced
- Aftertaste: Lingering clarity with light returning sweetness and fresh bamboo character
- Liquor: Bright golden-red, clear and lively
- Steeping Endurance: 6–8 infusions
Brewing Guidelines
Gong Fu Style
- Teaware: Thin-walled porcelain gaiwan for maximum clarity, or glass teapot to appreciate the colour and purity of the liquor
- Ratio: 6–7 g per 100 ml water
- Water: 90–95 °C, ideally spring water
- Infusions: Brief rinse; begin with short infusions and gradually extend through 6–8 brews
Western Style
- Teaware: Porcelain or glass teapot
- Ratio: 3–4 g per 250 ml water
- Water: 90–95 °C
- Steeping: 2–3 minutes for the first infusion; resteep 2–3 times, extending the brewing time slightly with each infusion
Why Choose This Tea
This 2026 Guanping Zhengshan Xiaozhong offers a quieter and more restrained expression of Tongmu black tea. Made from approximately 50-year-old Qizhong bushes growing at around 1,300 metres, it combines high-mountain clarity with gentle sweetness and a distinctive bamboo-leaf fragrance.
Its character is less about power and more about refinement. The liquor remains clean, silky and balanced, with soft minerality and a fresh finish that reflects the bamboo-rich environment surrounding the tea gardens.
For those who enjoy delicate, high-mountain black teas or want to explore a subtler side of Zhengshan Xiaozhong beyond heavier fruit, wood or smoke, this is a particularly elegant example of Guanping and the wider Tongmu terroir.