Compare two teas
Side by side across seven dimensions. There is no verdict and no winner — the purpose is to understand the difference, not to be told which to buy.
TeaHQ has written about this pair
Five black teas that share a processing route and almost nothing else. Anyone who has decided black tea is one flavour has met one of these and generalised from it.
- Where it is from and what leaf
- Keemun: Anhui, China. Small-leaf sinensis, and a tea invented only in the 1870s.Lapsang Souchong: Wuyi, Fujian. Generally accepted as the oldest black tea.
- What makes it distinctive
- Keemun: A cocoa-and-pine sweetness that no other origin reproduces.Lapsang Souchong: Finishing over smouldering pine — a step, not an origin trait.
- Commonly described as
- Keemun: Cocoa, pine, dried plum and orchid; softer than any Indian black.Lapsang Souchong: Pine smoke and tar over a genuinely sweet dried-fruit tea.
- Brewing
- Keemun: 90 to 95 °C, three minutes; also rewards gongfu.Lapsang Souchong: Boiling water but a shorter steep — the smoke builds fast.
- With milk?
- Keemun: Takes a little without collapsing, and is more interesting without.Lapsang Souchong: Regional variation; some drink it with milk, many do not.
- Who may prefer it
- Keemun: Anyone who finds Indian blacks too sharp but wants real depth.Lapsang Souchong: A minority taste, and worth trying a small amount of first.
In summary: Dian Hong is the easiest of the five to enjoy without milk and the best starting point for someone who has only met breakfast blends. Assam is the reference for what 'malty' means. The others are each doing something specific enough that liking one predicts little about the rest.
Point by point
| Dimension | Keemun | Lapsang Souchong |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Black tea · fully oxidised | Black tea · fully oxidised |
| Production | In order: Withering → Rolling and shaping → Oxidation → Drying. bud and two leaves and spring harvest. | In order: Withering → Rolling and shaping → Oxidation → Drying. medium roast, bud and three plus and spring harvest. |
| Origin | China — Qimen | China — Wuyi Mountains |
| Flavour | chocolate, woody and smoky. medium and smooth in the mouth. Aroma: cocoa, pine, dried plum, orchid. Layered in character. Moderate in intensity. | smoky, woody and sweet. full bodied and rich in the mouth. Aroma: pine smoke, tar, dried longan, campfire. Moderate in character. Moderate in intensity. |
| Brewing | Western brewing (teapot or mug): 1–1.5 g/100 ml at 90–95 °C, first steep 180s. Gongfu brewing (gaiwan): 4–5 g/100 ml at 90–95 °C, first steep 10s of 5 authored. Mug infuser brewing: 1–1.5 g/100 ml at 95–101 °C, first steep 180s. | Western brewing (teapot or mug): 1–1.5 g/100 ml at 95–100 °C, first steep 150s. Gongfu brewing (gaiwan): 4–5 g/100 ml at 90–95 °C, first steep 10s of 5 authored. |
| Cultural context | Not recorded for this tea. | Two quite different products share the name. The heavily smoked export style is what most Western drinkers know; the unsmoked or very lightly smoked Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong drunk in China is a different tea entirely, sweet and fruity with little or no smoke. Neither is a fake, but a buyer expecting one and receiving the other will be surprised. |
| Who may prefer it | Someone who wants presence without being dominated and wants to enjoy it on the first cup. It tolerates an imprecise brew. | Someone who wants presence without being dominated and is willing to drink something several times before it makes sense. It rewards attention to leaf weight and timing. |
Nothing above is a recommendation. The last row describes the drinker each tea suits, using each tea’s own authored fields and the same sentence structure for both, so neither can be framed as the safe choice.