Liubao Tea

Liubao Tea

Liubao tea is a protected geographical indication product.

　　    In recent years, as the demand and influence of Yunnan Pu'er tea—a traditional overseas Chinese black tea—have expanded, Wuzhou Liubao tea, also a traditional overseas Chinese black tea, has gained recognition among tea enthusiasts. Its unique flavor and health benefits are gradually being rediscovered. Drinking, talking about, and collecting Liubao tea have become a new fashion among tea enthusiasts in Wuzhou.

　　     Liubao tea is a famous tea unique to Guangxi, belonging to the category of dark tea. It is produced in the mountainous areas along the Xunjiang, Hejiang, Guijiang, Yujiang, Liujiang, and Hongshui rivers, but the most renowned comes from Liubao Township in Cangwu County, Wuzhou. It is thus named Liubao tea, with an annual production of about 30,000 dan. Apart from some domestic sales, the majority is exported to countries such as Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and regions including Hong Kong and Macau.

　　     Liubao tea is known for its "four excellences": red color, rich taste, aged quality, and mellow flavor. It features a dark brown appearance, a bright red and thick liquor, a robust and refreshing taste with a sweet aftertaste, and a mellow aged aroma with a betel nut fragrance. It offers multiple health benefits, such as harmonizing the stomach, regulating qi, eliminating indigestion and bloating, clearing heat and dampness, sobering up, and reducing blood lipids. It enjoys a high reputation both domestically and abroad, especially among overseas Chinese, and is regarded as a precious health-preserving tea. Folklore says it can be stored for a long time and becomes more fragrant with age. The Cangwu County Annals (Tongzhi edition) noted, “Liubao tea has a rich taste and remains unchanged even overnight.” Among tea aficionados, those with “golden flowers”—golden fungal spores—are particularly favored, as the golden flower fungus secretes various enzymes that promote specific chemical reactions in the tea leaves, enhancing their flavor and aroma, and providing exceptional health benefits.

　　     Liubao tea is a famous tea with strong local characteristics from Wuzhou, Guangxi, boasting over 1,500 years of history as a very ancient tea product. According to the Tongjunlu from the Northern and Southern Dynasties: “In the south, there is a fruit called gua, similar to tea, extremely bitter and astringent. Its crushed leaves are used to make tea, which can keep one awake all night. Salt boilers rely on this drink, and it is especially valued in Jiaozhi and Guang regions, where it is served first to guests, often accompanied by incense.” This indicates that as early as the 5th or 6th century, people in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions had developed a common habit of drinking tea. By the Wei and Jin dynasties, tea leaves were already being pressed into cakes and dried, and compressed teas began to appear. As recorded in Lu Yu’s Classic of Tea: “Pluck it, steam it, pound it, pat it, string it, seal it, and bake it—the tea is dried.” Fresh leaves were steamed, pounded, and juiced, then hand-shaped and compressed into cakes or lumps for storage. The production method of Liubao tea originates from this technique. Through continuous evolution, it has formed the production methods and quality of Liubao tea today.

　　     The production of Liubao tea uses fresh leaves from local large-leaf tea trees as raw materials. The picking standard is four or five mature leaves from the new shoots. The production process can be divided into two stages: raw material processing (initial and refined processing) and steaming, pressing, and aging. The fresh leaves are briefly sun-dried and then processed using the green tea method. After a special pile-fermentation process and drying, they become rough tea. Then, through refining, the tea is blended according to the finished product grade to form raw material, which is steamed soft and pressed into special containers. The shaped and packaged tea is then naturally air-dried in a ventilated, cool, moderately humid, clean, and odor-free environment for over a year before being released for sale.

　　     Five Benefits of Liubao Tea:

　　     1. Lowering blood pressure and preventing arteriosclerosis.

　　     2. Health maintenance, weight loss, and longevity.

　　     3. Eliminating damp heat, preventing cancer, and protecting against illness.

　　     4. Refreshing the mind and eliminating fatigue.

　　     5. Reducing greasiness, aiding digestion, and sobering up.