Lapsang Souchong: The Price of a Year's Supply
A hundred grams of leaf, a glass tumbler and water off the boil
The cafe cup replaced by a thermos at the desk
A glass tumbler with leaves at the bottom and a kettle clicking off.
Lapsang souchong is priced by the hundred grams and drunk by the cup, and the cup is where the arithmetic lands.
Prices for lapsang souchong arrive in ranges rather than headlines, and the ranges are what a household can plan with.
A jar of lapsang souchong is priced by the label as much as by the contents, and the label is the part that is marketed.
Where the money goes
What lapsang souchong costs is a set of 5 lines rather than a headline price, and the basis column is the part to read.
A hundred grams of lapsang souchong makes dozens of cups, and the bottled version costs more per litre than the leaf.
A gift tin of the tea is priced by the tin as much as the tea, and the tin is kept after the tea is gone.
The ranges are typical 2025–26 figures rather than quotes, and the ranking of the lines matters more than the exact number.
A household that buys the tea weekly pays for convenience, and a household that buys monthly pays for shelf space.
A cheap pack of the tea is cheap because it is smaller, and the smaller pack usually costs more per gram.
| Line | Typical range | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Gift tin | $20–80 | typical |
| Teapot or gaiwan | $30–150 | one purchase |
| Loose leaf, 100 g | $8–40 | typical range |
| Bottled tea | $2–4 | per bottle |
| Cup at a tea shop | $3–8 | typical |
What the minimum looks like
The arithmetic is easier with two lines than with five: loose leaf, 100 g ($8–40) plus teapot or gaiwan ($30–150) is $38–190, and the rest is discretionary.
That total is the number to budget, and the optional lines are the ones to cut when the month is short.
A budget built on two lines is more honest than one built on a headline, and easier to check.
The cheap version of the tea costs less per pack and more per use, and the per-use number is the one that matters.
Add the third line, teapot or gaiwan at $30–150, and the minimum rises to $68–340 before anything optional.
| Line | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Loose leaf, 100 g | $8–40 |
| Teapot or gaiwan | $30–150 |
| Minimum total | $38–190 |
What does it replace?
Every price for the tea has an alternative next to it, and the alternative is what the household is really choosing between.
The table lists the substitutes, and the cheapest substitute is usually the one that costs an hour rather than a fee.
A household that can name the substitute can usually name the saving, and the saving is the gap between the two lines.
A discount on the tea that requires a membership is a fee by another name.
| Alternative | Typical range |
|---|---|
| A cafe cup | $4–7 |
| A bottled iced tea | $2–4 |
| A tea-shop pot | $8–20 |
What to do, in order
The moves below are the ones that change the number, in the order a household makes them.
Buy the tea by the leaf, not the bag. A bag is a portion, and a portion costs more per cup.
Store the tin away from light. Tea takes the flavour of the cupboard, and the tea is no exception.
Drink the second infusion. The second pour is the one the leaf was picked for.
Keep green tea off the boil. Boiling water scalds a green leaf and the cup turns bitter.
Pour out the last mouthful. The bottom of the cup is the bitter part.
Rinse the leaf once. The first pour wakes the leaf and washes the dust.
What the tea costs is a range, and the range is small enough to plan a week around.
When it is not worth it
A fair account of the tea has to include the parts that do not work.
Tea drunk with a meal reduces iron absorption, and a household with anaemia should leave a gap.
The tea is a drink and not a treatment, and a cup is not medicine.
Cheap leaves are cheap for a reason, and a bag of dust brews a bitter cup that ends the habit.
The habit is cheap at the low end and expensive at the high end, and an aged cake costs more than a month of coffee.
A strong cup on an empty stomach sits badly with some people, and the household that drinks it all day should eat first.
Tea from a thermos stays at a temperature that scalds, and the household should pour into a cup.
The imported version of the tea costs several times the local one and does the same job.
The price of the tea moves with the season, and the season is not announced on the shelf.
When to buy
Timing changes the number more than bargaining does.
Buy the tea in the spring, when the first pick reaches the shop and the price is set for the year.
The summer is the season for cold-brewing the cheap leaf, and the winter is the season for the dark roast.
The winter price of the tea is the summer price plus storage, and the storage is the difference.
The date is the only line in the table that can be moved without buying anything different.
Before you pay
Before paying for the tea, five checks change the total more than any discount.
Check the pack size you will finish. Bulk the tea is a discount on storage, and storage is not free in a small flat.
Buy the staple in the size you use. A sack of the staple behind the tea is cheaper per kilo and a problem if the household does not finish it.
Store it away from heat. A cupboard over the stove is the worst shelf for the tea.
Check the unit price on the shelf label. A supermarket shelf label for the tea prints the per-100g price, and that is the number to compare.
Compare the price per gram. A small pack of the tea costs more per gram than the large one, and the shelf decides.
Read the first three ingredients. Salt, sugar and water lead the label on most versions of the tea.
The five checks cost nothing, and together they are worth more than any discount a household negotiates.
The household behind the bill
The cost falls on the person who books it, and the benefit falls on everyone at the table.
A single person can absorb a bad buy, and a family cannot, which is why the family reads the table first.
The household matters less than the number of people it brings to the table.
The person who cooks the tea is often not the person who shops for it.
What's worth taking?
What the tea costs is the leaf, and the leaf is the only line that a household can choose.
Related reading, on the same kind of arithmetic: Oolong Tea Benefits, Jin Jun Mei and Tapioca Pearls.
The search for the tea ends with a number, and the number is easier to check than to argue about.
The household that prices the tea by the use rather than the pack keeps the grocery bill flat.
Buying the tea in the larger size is a discount on storage, and storage is the cost the shelf hides.
The line that moves most in the tea is the material, and the material is priced by the season.
The label on the tea lists salt and sugar early, and the order of the list is the honest part.
The price of the tea splits into what is used and what is thrown away, and a household controls the second half.
Sources
- Household final consumption expenditure per capita — World Bank Open Data · accessed 2026-10-19
- Urban population (% of total population) — World Bank Open Data · accessed 2026-10-19