ZI RAN SMOKEis a zhengshan xiaozhongor, lapsang souchongproduction fromTongmu, Fujian province, China. This lot comes to us from Zi Ran Hong,a centuries-old smokehouse about 4hours from Wuyi national park. Zi Ran”natural”is a name with dual meanings: first, that the tea is naturally smoked-to-dry (as opposed to large scale lapsang production, where huge batches of finished tea aredry-smoked). More deeply, and absolutely Chinese, this tea’s namesake describes its fully-integrated self. Lapsang is, first, black tea (in Zi Ran Hong,”hong” = “red”. Red tea is what we understand as black tea in the west). The tea is then smoked with a type of pine (Tongmu) endemic to the mountain, making this zhengshan xiaozhong a complete productof its namesake.ZI RAN SMOKEis theembodiment of this self-contained tea making philosophy, and represents a very old tea making tradition.

Distinguished from commodity lapsang by this smoke-to-dry process, ZI RAN SMOKE is first hand-plucked from wild-growing xingcun xiaozhong cultivar tea trees, withered, hand-rolled in cloth, and left to oxidize fully in bamboo baskets with no yaoxing (“shaking”a process that accelerates oxidation). The tea is lastly driedinadedicated smoking room (qing lou”green house”) using tongmu wood burned under the floor.

Tongmuguan 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.

ZI RAN SMOKE is tea first; the base material presents vividly through the smoke, skillfully applied by Zhao to uplift and accent rather than conceal the tea.Theharsh weather andalpine terrain of the Wuyi regionmake for stressed teas with distinct high-mountain characterand strongyan yun (“rock quality”)this hongcha is no exception. Steep hot and fast for the intended experience. Expect rock sugar, date, and of course, pine.

vintage spring’22

style zhengshan xiaozhong (“themountain 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]

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