Rishi Tea Organic Wuyi Black (Lapsang Souchong)

Fujian, China

Lapsang Souchong (正山小種) is the world's first black tea, originating in the Wuyi Mountains of Fujian in the 17th century. The traditional version is dried over pine wood fires, producing the characteristic smoky, resinous, camphor character that defined the European market for China tea through the 18th century. Rishi's Organic Wuyi Black uses a lightly smoked version that preserves the pine-smoke character without overwhelming it — an ideal entry for guests new to smoked tea, and a compelling beverage pairing with smoked charcuterie, aged cheeses, and cold-weather dishes.

Pairing intelligence

• starter: Lapsang Souchong's pine smoke harmonic with the smoke register of cold-smoked salmon is a famous pairing — both carry woodland smoke notes that amplify each other.
• casual: Lapsang Souchong's pine-smoke character directly pairs with smoked salmon; both are smoke preparations
• cheese: Lapsang Souchong's pine smoke and smoked cheese's smoke: direct resonance of smoking methods
• casual: Rishi Wuyi Black's Lapsang smokiness bridges the smoked Gruyère; smoke in the tea and smoke in the cheese align
• amuse: Lapsang Souchong's smoke character creates a thematic pairing with smoked egg. Both carry smokehouse aromatics; the tea's dried fruit base contrasts the eggy richness.
• dessert: Smoked tea's camphor-dried fruit with gingerbread's molasses-spice: winter warming pairing
• cheese: Pine-smoke tea and funky washed rind cheese: both are pungent, both are transformative; the pairing is for confident palates
• main: Smoked tea beside smoked meat: the smoke from different woods creates a harmonic rather than redundant pairing