This is a green tea from Chô Lông a small area of Sơn La province in northern Vietnam near the Laotian border. The leaves are harvested from old wild tea trees growing in the region then processed normally as green tea, but after that the leaves are subjected to a complex roasting process that imbues a smoky aroma and gives this tea’s liquor a fascinating pinkinsh colour it has been allowed to rest for several years for the smokiness to settle down. This tea is only available in 50g bags.

The dry leaves have a strong smoky smell very similar to tobacco, with a bit more of a herbaceous nuance. The smoke carries through into the flavour as well and is the first thing you taste, followed by a peculiar slightly bitter sweetness. In the first brew the liquor is starkly pink-tinged, in later infusions this is less noticeable, and it is not something you can easily pick up on camera but it’s there. In more intense infusions the main flavours you get are smoke and bitterness, while lighter infusions which are my preference will yeild sweeter, slightly smoky brews, allowing you to appreciate the underlying character of the leaves beneath the smoke more. This is an exceedingly unique tea, the head feeling can also be quite intense.