Description
 
2003 Ancient Arbor Liu Bao Hei Cha - Treasure
 
This Hei Cha Loose Leaf is handmade by local farmer in Quang Xi in 2003 and stored in a large Clay Jar since then. There are a total of 10 jars of this batch and we are lucky to get 1 from them. 
 
Since it is humid in Guang Xi , the tea age much faster than tea aging in the North. It gives a really rich wet rock and mineral note upon drinking and leaves the mouth a rich camphor and honey sweetness. Besides, its medium bittersweet gives an extra kick after swallow. It offers a good 8-10 steeps,
 
After decades of agining, It carries a intense medicinal mineral note like Fine Aged white tea and with rich camphor note blending with light floral and autumn leaf flavour. Upon pouring hot water into the gaiwan, the fragrance of aged tea just filled up the room. It taste more like tea from 1990s which surprised us. We had over 10 steeps wichout getting tired of it.
 
Here come with a brief history of Liu Bao (六堡), like Puerh is a fermented tea traditionally from Guangxi. It is fermented and dried in a long delicate process in preparation for further aging. Part of the process involves wet piling for several weeks to allow fermentation to take place. The degree of fermentation depends on the amount of time the tea is wet piled and can differ depending on the intended outcome.Guangxi province is located south of Yunnan, neighbouring Guangdong so features average daytime temperatures between 12 -22 degrees and humidity between 70 -85%. Perhaps perfect, with its short, mild winters, and long, very hot and humid summers for fermented tea production.
 
Liu Bao is definitely calmer on the stomach than any of the ripe or raw Puerh I’ve experienced. It is well known to warm the stomach which in Traditional Chinese Medicine is a yang organ and therefore prone to yang deficiency where there isn’t enough heat to process and absorb the qi from the food or yin deficiency where there is insufficient fluid to hold, descend and transform the qi from food. Hence Liu Bao tea that does both in giving heat and fluid is perfect for more delicate stomach constitutions. These virtues are expressed in the Qing dynasty poem attributed to Cheng Yuandao
 
This tea is very intense (strong cha chi), a very short steeping is recommended. Phenolic compounds are very flavorful, as most tea connoisseurs will already know. The unique phenols in this Liu Bao perhaps gives it the well appreciated and unique taste profile that many people describe as sour cereal or woody herbal taste, classically though it is described as having a “betel nut” aroma/flavour. This unique flavour profile is like a black sheep among other teas. It is not everyone's cup of tea but if you fall into it , you will appreciate the unique experience it offers.