Properties
| Type | Black Tea |
| Chinese | 烟熏小种 |
| Origin | Tongmu Masu, Wuyishan |
| Year | 2022 |
| Pinyin | Yān xūn xiǎo zhǒng |
| Mandarin |
Masu Smoked Black Tea
烟熏小种
My cousin lives in the mountains above Tongmu in a village called Masu. This is black tea (zhen shan xiao zhong) from Masu smoked in the traditional way over pine.
Opening the bag will release a fresh smoke smell, strong, but not acrid or overpowering. The first steep may give you the impression of cooking breakfast over a pine fire, a little dry but smooth and full bodied. The smoke flavor quickly mellows out, and becomes well balanced with the sweetness of the black tea and mineral flavors.
The quality of the base material is what makes this tea interesting for me. As the smoke dissipates faster than the tea steeps out, each steep shows a slightly different look at what smoked tea can be.