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48 STiR tea & coffee industry international Map courtesy of www.chinatrekking.com Mount Wuyi Lapsang Souchong and Fujian gourmet black Lapsang souchong is believed to be the oldest style black tea. The full bodied black tea is smoked by pine wood fire in the final drying stage to acquire a warm smoky tone. Lapsang means Inner Mountain in local dialect and souchong refers to small yield varietal scattered in rock gaps. Inner Mountain is the core origin of lapsang souchong, which refers to inner peaks of the Wuyi Mountain range wrapped in thick forest and foggy mist. In recent years, Mount Wuyi region also developed high-end artisan black tea such as the pure-bud grade golden eyebrow (jin jun mei) and the tender bud and leaf grade silver eyebrow (yin jun mei), which are intricately hand-made from delicate buds and leaves and unsmoked to preserve the innate taste. To avoid the high cost and still enjoy the fruity flavor of Wuyi black tea, choosing unsmoked Lapsang souchong is ideal. Outside Mount Wuyi, northern Fujian also has three famous black teas named after the origin of growth: zhenghe, tanyang and bailin black. Among the three teas, zhenghe is the strongest one, while bailin is a mildest type. Besides the above mentioned single- origin black tea, there is also Fujan black tea blends sold in the umbrella name of Min Hong. Underdeveloped Fujian Green Tea Overshadowed by all the above gourmet teas, Fujian green tea is relatively underde- veloped. There are some local specialty green teas, yet none of them had adequate vol- ume, production consistency or due fame to satisfy consumers outside those remote origins. The best known are White Monkey (Bai Mao Hou), FuAn Green Buds (Lvya) and Snow Buds (Xueya). When traveling in mountainous Fujian villages, there may be chances to come across certain good tasting yet unknown or even nameless Fujian green tea. No matter where you source teas in Fujian, the province offers unequaled variety and quality. SHAKE A LEG * STiR Tea & Coee Industry Bi-Monthly Visit www.stir-tea-coee.com Email info@stir-tea-coee.com * SYNONYM: STiR, hurry, get moving, hop to it... Don't Miss a Single STiRring Issue of the World's Leading Tea & Coee Industry Magazine. SHAKE A LEG on getting a paid subscription to