Glossary: L

Lapsang Souchong

A fine grade of China Black tea with a distinctive smoky flavour which results from a unique drying process. Tea drinkers either love or hate the taste of this unusual tea.

Lawrie Tea Processor (LTP)

A machine for processing tea leaves into smaller, quick-brewing grades. The design of the LTP has been adapted from a former tobacco-processing machine.

Light

Describes a liquor which is rather thin and lacking depth of colour but which may be flavoury or pungent or both.

London Tea Auction

A daily tea auction held in London until 1998. The first tea auctions were held quarterly under the control of the East India Company. Independence from the Company came in 1834. The sales ended because tea was increasingly auctioned offshore or in the producer countries.

London Tea Dealers

An eighteenth-century trade association of tea dealers. Richard Twining was Chairman of the association when William Pitt came to power. He persuaded Pitt to introduce the Commutation Act of 1784.

Lord North (1732-92)

Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford was Prime Minister from 1770 to 1782. His approach to the American colonies matched that of his king, George III. It was Lord North who imposed the Tea Act of 1773 that led to the Boston Tea Party.

Lot

Describes all of the teas offered under a single mark or serial number at any tea auction.