Four regions, one teacher — Zhou Xiang’s black tea tour
Zhou Xiang, whose Hunan roots taught him to appreciate boldness in tea, assembled this set as a roadmap to China’s black tea geography. He walked the gardens: the misty fir forests of Tongmu village for Zhèng Shān Xiǎo Zhǒng, the rocky cliffs of Wuyi for Lapsang, the ancient tea groves near Fengqing for Dianhong, and the Huangshan foothills for Keemun. Each 25g lot was chosen from spring 2025 harvests, selected during side-by-side cupping sessions in Teamotea’s Longhua lab. Zhou Xiang insisted on classic, regional profiles rather than novelty — the Keemun must whisper dried rose and cocoa, the Lapsang must carry real pine-smoke without bitterness, the Dianhong must coat the mouth with malt and pepper, and the Zhèng Shān Xiǎo Zhǒng must recall honey and longan with a clean, vanishing smoke. The samples are packed in nitrogen-flushed foil to lock in that freshness. “This is a cupping set,” he says, “meant to teach the tongue how geography becomes taste.” For him, Dianhong’s maltiness speaks of Yunnan’s sun, while Keemun’s fragrance reminds him of early morning in the Huangshan mist — a contrast every black-tea lover should experience.