Zhen Shan Xiao Zhong

The Superior Lapsang

Known in the elite tea-drinking community as the better Lapsang tea variety, Zhen Shan Xiao Zhong is not a tea that is found in commercial tea shops. This is due to a number of reasons, the foremost being that Zhen Shan Xiao Zhong tea is produced only in the WuYi mountains.

Unlike commercial-grade Lapsang tea (which is not grown solely in the WuYi province), Zhen Shao is grown and processed only within the small area that comprises the WuYi province.

This, along with a few other factors makes this tea special, and surprisingly enough, more palatable on the tongue.

• Only the tips of the tea plants are harvested, and this only during early Spring. Due to this reason (the small timeframe that is open to harvest the tea leaves) only a very small amount of this tea can be made per year.
• The tea is handled with great care by the villagers in all its stages, from plucking, to processing to smoking. This is why Zhen Shao Xiao Zhong is considered to be an artisan tea.
• Because the tea leaves that are used to make Zhen Shao Xiao Zhong is from a very small area, the different characteristics of the tea also comes from the climate, the environment and the soil, thus imbuing it with its unique characteristics.
• Also, Lapsang Souchong is hot-smoked, wheras Zhen Shao is cold-smoked.

...Read the next article in the series on The Taste of Lapsang Souching Tea tomorrow...

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