Perhaps the most famous china tea, the best coming from the hills in north Fujian. It is a unique large leaf tea distinguished by its smoky aroma and flavour and tarry taste is acquired through drying over pine wood fires.

The story of Lapsang Souchong is that the smoking process was discovered by accident. An army camped in a tea factory that was full of drying leaves, these had to be moved to accommodate the soldiers. When the soldiers left the leaves needed to be dried quickly, so the workers lit open fires of pinewood to speed up the drying. The tea reached the market on time and a new flavour had been created. Today the tea is still smoked but by more hygienic and modern methods.