Lapsang souchong

Lapsang souchong (/ˌlæpsæŋ ˈsuːtʃɒŋ/; Chinese: 正山小種/立山小種; pinyin: Lìshān xiǎo zhǒng; literally: "sub-variety from Lapu Mountain"; Cantonese: laap6 saan1 siu2 zung2) is a black tea (Camellia sinensis) originally from the Wuyi region of the Chinese province of Fujian. It is more commonly named 正山小种 in Simplified Chinese characters (Mandarin zhèng shān xiǎo zhǒng) and 正山小種 in traditional Chinese characters or Japanese kanji (Japanese reading rapusan sūchon, borrowed from Cantonese). It is sometimes referred to as smoked tea (熏茶). Lapsang is distinct from all other types of tea because lapsang leaves are traditionally smoke-dried over pinewood fires, taking on a distinctive smoky flavour.

Xiǎozhǒng (小種) means "sub-variety". Lapsang souchong is a member of the Bohea family of teas though not an oolong, as are most Bohea teas ("Bohea" is the pronunciation in Minnan dialect for Wuyi Mountains, which is the mountain area producing a large family of tea in South-East China).

Lapsang souchong from the original source is increasingly expensive, as Wuyi is a small area and there is increasing demand for this variety of tea.