ZI RAN REDis an unsmoked zhengshan xiaozhongor, lapsang souchongproduction fromTongmu, Fujian province, China. Like ZI RAN SMOKE, this lot comes to us from Zi Ran Hong,a centuries-old smokehouse about 4hours from Wuyi national park. For this production, the smokehouse, or qing lou (“green house”, where lapsang is smoked with pine wood) was irrelevant; this isa modernist unsmoked lot. Save the smoking, this hong cha (“red tea”) is produced identically to its smoked cousin:hand-plucked from wild-growing xingcun xiaozhong cultivar trees, withered, hand-rolled in cloth, and left to oxidize fully in bamboo baskets with no yaoxing (“shaking”a process that accelerates oxidation).

Tongmuguan, where ZI RAN HONG has operated for 3 generations, has been a protected UNESCO site since 1979.The pine forests arenationally protected, with imposed limits on how much can be harvested. All the land in Tongmu is accounted for by long-time residentsZi Ran Hongis in its third generation of tea making.Without sponsorship from a resident, tourists are not permitted in the preserve. Our ongoing partnership with Zhao Cong at Zi Ran Hong grants us rare access to one of Fujian’s best-protected treasures.

The lack of pine wood smoking offers a unique glimpse into the natural character of Tongmu tea. The dry leaf offers a mulling spice musk, with the steeped tea giving raisins and dates wrapped in a dryingbut not tannicbody. Steep aggressively, and alongside the same tea, but smoked, for the full lapsang souchong experience.

vintage spring’22

style unsmokedzhengshan xiaozhong (“mountain small leaf”)

cultivar zheng shan xiao zhong

region Tongmu, Fujian, China

locale Zi Ran Hong tea farm

elevation 1300 meters

producer Zhao Cong

nomenclature Zi Ran ()”natural” | Hong()”red”

STEEPING PARAMETERS

(use freshlyboiled spring water)

modern, large format
[300 ml+ vesselBOLI, large teapot]

4 grams 208F (98C) 2 minutes

traditional, small format
[150 ml- vessel gaiwan, small teapot]

5 grams 208F (98C) 15 seconds (rinse optional)
+10-15 seconds each additional steep