Liu bao is a dark, fermented tea from Liu Bao township in Cangwu County, Guangxi, in southern China. It belongs to the family the Chinese call hei cha, the same broad group as Fu brick, and it is piled and fermented after the leaf is made, much like shou puerh. A large share of the old liu bao that survives today was aged in Malaysia, where it was the everyday drink of Chinese tin miners. It tastes softer and steadier than puerh, with notes of betel nut and a faint pine smoke.
Where does liu bao come from?
Liu bao comes from the hills of Cangwu County in eastern Guangxi, near the river city of Wuzhou. The name means "six castles", probably after old forts in the area, though nobody is certain. The tea trees are medium-leaf: larger than the small-leaf bushes of Fujian and smaller than the big-leaf trees of Yunnan used for puerh.
A note on terms. Hei cha translates as "black tea", but it does not mean what the West calls black tea. Chinese call that red tea. Hei cha means tea that is fermented by microbes after it is processed. Liu bao, Fu brick and shou puerh all sit in this group.
Wuzhou was the trading hub. Tea went downriver to Guangzhou and Hong Kong, and from there to the Chinese communities of Southeast Asia. The Guangxi Wuzhou Tea Factory, maker of the 1980s VIVE, is based there.
How is liu bao made, and how has it changed?
Liu bao is heated to stop oxidation, rolled, moistened and piled so microbes can ferment it, then dried, steamed and packed tightly into bamboo baskets to age. The details have changed several times since the 1950s, so a 1950s liu bao and a 2000s liu bao were not made the same way. Knowing the era tells you a lot about the tea in the cup.
The broad sequence, with the caveat that makers varied:
- Before 1958. The leaf was steamed three times: once to stop oxidation, once before piling, and once to soften it for pressing. There was no withering.
- From 1958. Kill-green moved to the wok. The leaf was rolled, sprayed with water and piled to ferment, then dried over pinewood fires, which is where the pine smoke comes from. It was then steamed and packed into baskets. Some makers used a cool pile followed by a hot pile.
- From the 1980s. Piling became longer, wetter and deeper. This came from shou puerh, which had itself been developed in the 1960s and early 1970s partly by studying liu bao and other dark teas. The influence ran both ways. Wetter-piled liu bao often carries a camphor note.
- Recent years. Some factories now make an unfermented, "green" liu bao. Reports on it are mixed, and nobody yet knows how it will age.
After pressing, baskets were rested for one to three years before sale. After the war, some were kept in cool, damp air-raid tunnels. Later, warehouses were used.
When a label says "traditionally processed", ask which tradition. On our listings it means a wok-fired leaf, sealed overnight, dried on a "seven star stove" and steamed twice. Other sellers may mean something else. For a closer comparison with shou, see liu bao vs shou puerh.
Why is so much old liu bao stored in Malaysia?
Because it was the tin miners' tea. From the mid 1800s, large tin deposits were found in British Malaya, and workers came from southern China to dig them. Many drank liu bao daily, a habit brought from home, where it was traditionally drunk against heat and damp. The mining companies bought it by the basket and warehoused tonnes of it.
The baskets were big, often 40 to 50kg each. Some workers are said to have refused to sign with companies that did not supply the tea. The companies also noticed that liu bao got better as it sat, so keeping large stocks cost them nothing in quality.
In the 1970s and 1980s the price of tin fell and the mines closed. Some stock was sold off. Some was simply left in storage. Demand in Guangxi dropped at the same time, production nearly stopped, and some old tea gardens were turned over to vegetables. For decades liu bao was known as "poor man's puerh".
Malaysia turned out to be a good place to age it. The heat and humidity are steady all year, and aged liu bao from Malaysia tends to be even and gentle compared with teas stored in more changeable climates. Much of the aged liu bao we sell has spent decades in Malaysian storage. See the Ma Bao, stored there since the 1990s, for an example.
What does liu bao taste like?
Good aged liu bao tastes of betel nut, with a light pine smoke from the drying fires and a woody, sometimes medicinal depth. It is softer and steadier than puerh, with less bitterness and fewer sharp edges. Post-1980s liu bao often adds camphor, from the wetter piling.
Where puerh tends to shift from infusion to infusion, liu bao is more even. Some people find that restful. Others find it less interesting than a lively sheng. It depends what you want from a session.
In Chinese medicine, older-style liu bao is traditionally described as cooling and the wetter 1980s style as warming. That is tradition, not a claim we are making about your health.
You may also see golden flowers, the yellow specks of the fungus Eurotium cristatum. Liu bao was not traditionally judged by them, though they sometimes appear, and some newer liu bao is fermented to encourage them. They are the defining feature of Hunan bricks such as our Fu brick with golden flowers.
Which liu bao vintages are famous?
The Malaysian tea teacher Lin Ping Xiang named five as his top liu bao: Pu Tian Gong Qing (1930s), 1950s Zhong Cha, 1960s LLLL367 (the "four orchids" top grade, traded through Hong Kong), 1950s Da Xin Hang and 1950s Fu Hua. Collectors also prize the 1970s SSHC from Penang and the 1980s VIVE from the Guangxi Wuzhou Tea Factory.
We stock several of these names, from the 1950s Fu Hua and Da Xin Hang to the 1970s SSHC and the 1980s VIVE, alongside younger everyday teas such as the 1980s Si Bao and 2000s Yuan Bao. They are all in the liu bao collection.
One caution on names. Some later teas carry names that echo the famous vintages, and some famous names are now used for modern grades. A tin with a celebrated name and a modest price is not the 1930s or 1950s tea. Read the date on the listing, not only the name. Our own "Celebration", "Congratulation" and "Auspicious" are late 1980s, mid 1990s and 2000s teas, and are labelled that way.
Prices have also moved. Not long ago a kilo of 1950s liu bao cost a fraction of an aged puerh cake of similar age. That gap has narrowed a lot.
How do you brew liu bao?
Use water just off the boil. Liu bao likes heat. Brew it gong fu style in a small pot or gaiwan with short infusions that lengthen as you go, or boil it, which is the traditional way. It is not as patient as a good puerh, so it does not need as much leaf. Start lighter than you would with shou, then adjust.
- Gong fu. Rinse the leaf once with boiling water. Start with short infusions and lengthen them as the tea opens. A round-bellied pot suits compressed and basket tea. Our guide to gong fu brewing covers the method.
- Lighter. Liu bao can be brewed lighter than most dark teas and still taste full. Try more leaf. Then less. The right amount is the one you like.
- Boiled. Simmer a small amount of leaf in a kettle and pour straight from it. This is how Malaysian restaurants traditionally served it. Keep it for everyday liu bao, not a 1950s vintage.
Keep aged liu bao in its basket, paper or tin, away from light and strong smells. Questions about a specific tea? Write to us.