Liubao tea from Cangwu (Old Tea Lady)

Liubao tea from Cangwu (Old Tea Lady)

　　Traditional farmhouse Liubao tea is not Old Tea Lady. In the past, the initial processing of Liubao tea was done manually by farming households, with a picking standard of one bud and three, four, or five leaves. After fixation, the leaves were rolled into strips.

　　Old Tea Lady is also a type of farmhouse Liubao tea. After 1954, the state uniformly established grading samples and purchase prices for Liubao tea, which were purchased collectively by supply and marketing cooperatives. However, the purchase price of Liubao tea was lower than that of similarly graded roasted green tea, so many producers originally making Liubao tea switched to roasted green tea. Although the raw material requirements for roasted green tea were one grade higher, the processing method was largely similar to that of Liubao tea, except Liubao tea involved an additional pile-fermentation step. In practice, the labor input was about the same.

　　From 1953 to 1955, a cost survey of Liubao tea was conducted, showing that the production cost for every 50 kilograms of Liubao tea was 28 to 36 yuan, while the selling price in 1955 was only 25 yuan, 11 yuan below the production cost, severely undermining tea farmers’ enthusiasm for tea production. From 1955 to 1961, the per capita grain ration in Liubao Commune (Township) was also relatively low. Especially after the state implemented a unified purchase and sales system for grain, the low price of Liubao tea led to insufficient food supply in tea-growing areas. As a result, Liubao tea production declined, and many tea trees were cut down. Historically, and in the early 1950s, Liubao tea held a dominant position in the Hong Kong market. But due to reduced production in Guangxi, shoddy processing, and the disappearance of its traditional flavor, sales gradually declined until the tea was eventually replaced by other famous varieties.

　　However, villagers in Liubao Township still maintain the habit of drinking Liubao tea. Due to the limited number of tea trees, the tea buds could not meet the needs of tea production. Farmers resorted to picking coarse, mature leaves for tea-making. The picked mature leaves were brought back, boiled in a large pot of boiling water to fix them, then scooped out and dried in the sun to make the finished tea. Farmhouse producers typically hang the tea in the kitchen to be smoked by the cooking fire. Old Tea Lady has a mild flavor, with a sweet taste reminiscent of loquat fruit, and some batches even carry a smoky aroma.