A modern unsmoked classic from the heart of the Wuyi Mountains
In the protected forests of Tongmu, deep inside the Wuyi National Nature Reserve, the village that gave the world Lapsang Souchong is quietly redefining its legacy. Here, a fourth-generation tea family has spent a decade perfecting an unsmoked Zhèng Shān Xiǎo Zhǒng — a tea that honours the pure character of the leaf, free from the pinewood smoke that once defined the style. Our senior expert Zhou Xiang travelled to Tongmu in spring 2025 to select this lot himself. He worked alongside the family, walking the misty hillsides at sunrise, inspecting pickings of one bud and two leaves from bushes growing at 1,000 metres. The process is restrained: a slow indoor wither, careful oxidation until the leaves blush to copper, a gentle roll, and a final charcoal drying — never touching a pine fire. What emerges is a black tea of remarkable clarity. The classic Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong honey-and-pine signature remains, but as a whisper rather than a shout. For Zhou Xiang, who grew up with the powerful smoked teas of Hunan, this unsmoked version is a revelation — technical, transparent, and graceful. It is a tea that asks you to slow down and pay attention.