Wuzhou Liubao Tea

Wuzhou Liubao Tea

　　Liubao tea is a historically renowned tea. With over 1,500 years of production history, it belongs to the dark tea category (post-fermented tea) among China’s six major tea types and is an outstanding representative of Guangxi’s dark teas. It was listed as a famous Chinese tea during the Jiaqing reign of the Qing Dynasty and is named after its origin in Liubao Township, Cangwu County, Wuzhou City, Guangxi. According to records: the tea produced in Liubao Township, Cangwu County, benefits from its location amid towering mountains and dense foliage, where tea trees receive ample moisture and benefit from abundant mountain fog. With little sun exposure in the afternoon, evaporation is minimal, resulting in thick, large leaves with a rich and fragrant taste. The steamed and processed Liubao tea is spread to release moisture, reduce leaf temperature, then compressed into baskets and piled in cool, damp caves. Through aging, it develops a glossy blackish-brown color, reddish-brown leaves, a bright amber-red liquor, a mellow taste, and a distinctive betel nut aroma. It is celebrated for its “four excellences”: redness, thickness, aged richness, and mellow flavor.

　　Liubao tea, known for its “red, thick, aged, and mellow” qualities and unique betel nut aroma, improves with age. As a dark tea, it is made from one bud and two or three leaves through processes including withering, fixation, rolling, pile fermentation, and drying. It is graded into Special Grade and Grades 1 to 6. Named after its origin and primary production area in Liubao Town, Wuzhou, Guangxi, it enjoys fame both domestically and internationally, with main markets in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hong Kong, Macau, and Southeast Asia.

　　The consumption of Liubao tea has continued from historical times to becoming a modern favorite in the tea market, inseparable from its unique flavor and health benefits. In addition to containing essential amino acids, vitamins, and trace elements, Liubao tea has a higher content of fat-decomposing enzymes compared to other teas, giving it numerous health-promoting functions.

　　1. Refreshes the mind and eliminates fatigue;

　　2. Reduces greasiness, aids digestion, strengthens the stomach, and sobers up;

　　3. Promotes urination, detoxifies, kills bacteria, reduces inflammation, and prevents illness;

　　4. Lowers blood pressure and prevents arteriosclerosis;

　　5. Protects against radiation and inhibits tumors;

　　6. Enhances health and beauty, aids weight loss, and prolongs life.

　　Liubao Township in Cangwu County is located north of the Tropic of Cancer, with an average annual temperature of 21.2°C, annual rainfall of 1,500 mm, and a frost-free period of 33 days. The township is part of the extension of the Daguishan Mountain Range in eastern Guangxi, spanning villages such as Tangping to Buyi, Siliu to Gaojian, and Wudong to Hokou. These areas feature towering peaks with elevations of 1,000–1,500 meters and steep slopes. Tea is mostly planted on hillsides or in valleys, often 3–10 kilometers from villages. The region is forested with crisscrossing streams, clear waters, short sunlight hours, and year-round mist. Historically, the Liubao tea-producing area included teas from Gongzhou Village, Heishi Village, Luodi Village, and Can Village, with those from Gongzhou and Heishi being the highest quality. According to records: the tea from Liubao Village thrives in its mountainous terrain with dense tree cover, ample moisture, and abundant mountain fog, resulting in thick, large leaves with a rich aroma, often fetching high prices. Next is the tea from Heishi Village, where the mountain is composed of black stones and clay, with constant stream flow ensuring sufficient water for larger, thicker leaves. Beyond Liubao, over 20 counties including Shizhai in Wubao Township, Cangwu County, Shatian in He County, and nearby Cenxi and Hengxian also produce Liubao tea. Adjacent areas in Guangdong such as Luoding and Zhaoqing also cultivate it. Most of Liubao’s soil consists of weathered sandy rock, turning into yellowish-red sandy soil rich in phosphorus and iron. The region mainly produces rice, cassava, sweet potatoes, timber, rosin, bamboo, bamboo paper, and tea.

　　Liubao tea comes from shrub-type medium-leaf tea trees with an open growth habit and dense branching. Based on bud color, there are four types: green-sprout tea (60%), purple-sprout tea (20%), large-white-leaf tea (5%), and broken-rice tea (15%). Green-sprout tea has the highest yield and best quality.

　　Naturally grown tea trees reach 200 cm in height and 80 cm in width after two years, with dense branching and internodes of 3.6 cm. Leaves are semi-upright, 8.3 cm long and 3.6 cm wide, elliptical in shape, green in color, smooth or slightly raised surface with moderate gloss. Leaf margins are slightly wavy, with light green young shoots and a few purple buds. There is little down, dense sprouting, and strong tenderness, with a sprouting density of 702 per square meter. One bud and three leaves measure 6.2 cm, weighing 0.46 grams. Sprouting begins in mid-March, harvesting in early April, making it an early-sprouting variety. Sprouting ends in mid-October. Leaves have coarse, deep, and sparse serrations, lie flat with slight inward curl, medium texture, and blunt tips, with 6–9 pairs of lateral veins.

　　Flower diameter is 3.9 cm, a medium-flower type. Calyx has 5–7 green, downless sepals; petals are 6–7, white with slight green tint, and ovaries are densely downy. Flowering begins in late October, peaks from early November to mid-December, with strong flowering and fruiting ability. Seeds mature in late October. Tea fruits are 1.5–3.4 cm in diameter, brown-skinned, kidney-shaped or spherical, with 0.6–1.3 cm stalks, 1.5–2 mm thick skins, 1–3 chambers per fruit, and one seed per chamber. Seeds are round, some oval, black-brown, 1–1.5 cm in diameter.

　　Leaf structure: leaf thickness 294.8 microns; upper epidermis 26.8 microns, lower epidermis 13.4 microns; palisade tissue has two layers, 107.2 microns thick. The first layer has tightly arranged cells, the second looser; spongy tissue is 147.7 microns thick with loose cell structure. The ratio of palisade to spongy tissue is 0.73:1. Fresh spring leaves contain 42.65% water extract, 28.77% tea polyphenols, 3.12% total amino acids, 3.77% caffeine, and 143.99 mg/g catechins.

　　Liubao tea is a neutral tea. In addition to the common health benefits of other teas, it excels in relieving summer heat and dampness, improving vision and clarity, and aiding digestion. It can be consumed after meals to aid digestion or on an empty stomach to cleanse the stomach. In hot, humid weather, drinking Liubao tea provides a cooling and refreshing sensation. After aging, golden “golden flowers” (beneficial yellow mold) appear in the tea, secreting amylase and oxidase that convert starch into simple sugars and oxidize polyphenols, turning the liquor reddish-brown and eliminating harsh flavors. Scientific tests and tea enthusiasts confirm that Liubao tea not only contains essential amino acids, vitamins, and trace elements but also has higher fat-decomposing enzymes, making it more effective at breaking down grease, reducing body fats, cholesterol, and triglycerides. Long-term consumption aids digestion, nourishes the stomach, and supports weight loss and health. Thus, as living standards rise, Liubao tea is increasingly favored by consumers.　

　　In addition to essential amino acids, vitamins, and trace elements, Liubao tea has higher fat-decomposing enzymes than other teas, making it more effective at breaking down grease, reducing body fats, cholesterol, triglycerides, and high blood uric acid. Long-term consumption aids digestion, nourishes the stomach, and supports fitness and weight loss. In summary, the main health benefits of Liubao tea are: 1. Refreshes the mind and eliminates fatigue; 2. Reduces greasiness, aids digestion, and sobers up; 3. Promotes urination, detoxifies, kills bacteria, reduces inflammation, and prevents illness; 4. Lowers blood pressure and prevents arteriosclerosis; 5. Protects against radiation and inhibits cancer; 6. Enhances health and beauty, aids weight loss, and prolongs life.

　　The quality of Liubao tea improves with age—the older, the better. Cooling and aging is a crucial and indispensable step in its production. Typically, tea is stacked in baskets and stored in cool, earthy warehouses until the following year for sale, forming Liubao tea’s distinctive style. Therefore, post-steaming processed Liubao tea must be spread to release moisture, cooled, then compressed into baskets and piled in cool, damp areas for aging. After about six months, the liquor becomes redder and thicker, the taste gains a refreshing coolness, and aged flavors develop, creating Liubao tea’s signature red, thick, mellow, and aged characteristics.

　　Liubao tea is generally packaged in traditional bamboo baskets, which help continue the internal transformation of tea components during storage, enhancing mellowness, deepening the liquor color, and revealing aged aromas. For easier storage, finished Liubao tea is also compressed into blocks, bricks, ingots, cylinders, or sold loose. Its quality features include a glossy blackish-brown color, exceptional brewability, and reddish-brown leaves.

　　To drink Liubao tea, place it in an earthenware pot, add mountain spring water, boil over an open flame, let it sit briefly, and drink when slightly warm for a rich, mellow, and fragrant experience. It refreshes, benefits the spleen, aids digestion, and relieves summer heat. Adding an appropriate amount of winter honey enhances its effectiveness against dysentery. Aged Liubao tea stored for over five years can treat infantile convulsions. Overnight-brewed Liubao tea retains its flavor and clarity, offering a refreshing and cooling effect.

　　The production area of Liubao tea covers the administrative regions governed by Wuzhou City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Producers within this area may apply to the Wuzhou Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau for the use of the “Geographical Indication Product Special Mark,” which, after review by the Guangxi Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau and approval by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine, will be publicly announced. The statutory inspection agency for Liubao tea is designated by the Guangxi Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau.