HOT ! Hu-Kwa Tea

One of Mr. Wendell’s first teas, Hu-Kwa is a uniquely crafted black tea from the island of Formosa and is considered by many tea connoisseurs to be the benchmark against which all other Lapsang Souchong style teas are measured.

Offered by the Mark T. Wendell Tea Company for over a century, our Hu-Kwa signature tea gains its distinctive flavor and smoky tang from the burning pinewood over which it is fired during the final drying process of the tealeaf. Distinctive with its smoky flavor and aroma, the dry leaves have an almost amber-brown coloration.

When brewed, Hu-Kwa signature black tea produces deep red liquor and a surprisingly mellow cup. Since this signature tea is cultivated in varying terroir from the smoky Lapsang Souchong black teas commonly produced in mainland China, it has a taste and character all its own.

In 2017, Mark T. Wendell\'s signature Hu-Kwa tea placed third overall in the Lapsang Souchong category at the annual Global Tea Championship! In each event, judges cup hundreds of teas blindly and score the teas based on the analyses of dry leaf, liquor color, aroma, flavor, and mouth feel, as well as overall harmony.