Tongmu (Lapsang Souchong origin)

Tongmu is a small village within the Wuyi mountain protected natural reserve in northern Fujian, and is the historic origin of black tea as a category. Legend (with substantial historical support) holds that the first black tea was created here in the 17th century when Ming dynasty soldiers occupied the local tea-processing facility and forced the producers to dry their tea quickly over pine fires — producing the world's first oxidized black tea, smoked over local Masson pine wood. The resulting tea — Lapsang Souchong (正山小种 zheng shan xiao zhong, "true mountain small-leaf species") — became the foundation for the entire global black tea industry.

Authentic Tongmu Lapsang Souchong, smoked over local Masson pine in traditional drying houses, has cup character substantially different from the heavy-handed mass-produced lapsang sold globally. The smoke integrates with the underlying tea character; longan fruit and honey notes emerge. Tongmu is also the origin of Jin Jun Mei (金骏眉) — an unsmoked premium black tea made entirely from young buds, developed in the early 2000s as a specialty product to extend the village's tea identity beyond smoked tea. Genuine Jin Jun Mei is rare and pricey; imitations are widespread.

Signature teas

• Authentic Lapsang Souchong (smoked)
• Jin Jun Mei (golden bud)
• Tongmu unsmoked black

Tea types produced

Cultivars grown

• Tongmu local cultivar
• Wuyi local varietals

Processing focus

Harvest seasons

• Spring (April-May)

Flavor signature

Notable producers & areas

• Tongmu village
• Wuyi National Nature Reserve