Liangxi Luo Family Citrus-Puerh Tea

Liangxi Luo Family Citrus-Puerh Tea

　　Citrus-Puerh tea is made from Yunnan Puerh tea and Xinhui citrus, known for its benefits in reducing phlegm, relieving coughs, aiding digestion, and refreshing the mind. It is said that this tea was first created by Luo Tianchi, a successful imperial examination candidate (Jinshi) of the Daoguang era from Liangxi Village.

　　Luo Tianchi, originally named Rumei and styled Caoshao, was born in 1805 in Liangxi Village, Tangxia Town, Xinhui. He became a Jinshi in the sixth year of the Daoguang reign and was honored as one of the "Four Great Masters of Eastern Guangdong." In the 27th year of Daoguang (1847), Luo resigned from his official post and returned to his hometown, bringing back many Puerh tea leaves. In the autumn of that year, he caught a cold and was reading in his study while sipping tea. His wife, busy attending to him, boiled some dried tangerine peel water for him to drink. Mistaking it for hot water for brewing tea, he poured the tangerine peel decoction into his teapot. Realizing it was actually a remedy for coughs and phlegm, he thought it a pity to pour it out, so he took a sip. Immediately, he noticed the subtle fragrance of aged tangerine peel blending with the aroma of Puerh tea wafting through his nose, refreshing his senses. After a few cups, he felt his throat clear up and his cough ease. The next day, he asked his wife to prepare more tangerine peel water for his tea. After drinking it for two consecutive days, his cough and phlegm significantly reduced, and he felt as though the depression in his heart had been cleansed away by the tangerine peel and Puerh tea. From then on, he developed a habit of brewing his Puerh tea with added tangerine peel.

　　Around that time, a younger clansman from the neighboring house brought him some citrus fruits he had grown himself. Luo picked up a citrus fruit and thought: the longer Puerh tea is stored, the richer, smoother, and more delicious it becomes; similarly, the longer Xinhui citrus peel is kept, the better its efficacy in clearing phlegm and soothing coughs. If these two were combined and stored together, it would not only be convenient for brewing but also easy to preserve. He tore the citrus peel into three sections and wrapped the Puerh tea inside. Though this made it easier to pack the tea, it also made it prone to spilling out. Luo then thought—if the tea must stay inside the citrus without leaking, the peel must remain intact, which meant removing the fruit pulp and seeds. So, he took a greenish-yellow citrus fruit, cut a small piece at the bottom, scooped out the pulp, filled the hollowed peel tightly with Puerh tea, then covered it with the piece of peel he had just cut off, restoring the fruit to its original shape. He then dried it in the sun. The dried citrus peel turned golden yellow, dry and crisp, giving off a faint citrus fragrance. To prevent moisture and avoid crushing the peel, he recalled how locals in Yunnan used to tie eggs with ropes and sell them in strings. He then found some straw, tied the citrus tea into strings, and hung them in his study. He also gave some to fellow villagers, teaching them how to make it both verbally and by demonstration. Gradually, the method of making citrus-Puerh tea spread throughout Liangxi, and later to Heshan, Xinhui, Kaiping, and beyond, continuing to this day.

　　As a descendant of the Luo family, Luo Peixian from Liangxi and the citrus-Puerh tea he makes have gradually come into the public eye. Flipping through the treasured writings of his ancestors preserved by the Luo family, the crafting techniques and benefits of citrus-Puerh tea are vividly documented. Luo Peixian’s great-grandmother, nearly ninety years old, has been smoking since her teenage years but has also been drinking citrus-Puerh tea for over seventy years. To this day, she enjoys sharp hearing, clear vision, and a rosy complexion—the detoxifying, cough-relieving, and lung-moistening effects of citrus-Puerh tea are evident. Could this be the main reason why the Luo family’s citrus-Puerh tea has endured?! According to Luo Peixian, the traditional time for making citrus-Puerh tea is from the ninth day of the ninth lunar month to before the winter solstice. Tea made with green citrus has a strong citrus flavor and is ideal for collection; tea made with yellow citrus offers a richer taste, with the tea flavor standing out even more.