This is a relatively young liubao hei cha. While Shu Pu’er was only developed in the 70s, people have been making liubao (Six Castles) for over 1000 years. Raw leaves grown in Guangxi are piled and exposed to high humidity until suitably fermented, and then pressed into large bamboo baskets and left to air-dry for several months. Liubao was traditonally sold in these 40-50kg baskets, but is now sold loose in smaller amounts or pressed into cakes and bricks like pu-er.

I call this tea young because liubao is commonly aged for multiple decades before being drunk. It has a slightly musty smell with undertones of ricecake. It brews an incredibly warm, sweet mellow flavour in just a few seconds, if you brew it longer then some slightly bitter, tanniny notes will emerge. The caffeine quickly reaches your brain and gives you a strong sense of alertness. The sweetness gets stronger on the second infusion, with a tiny hint of sourness noticeable to the discerning tongue. It feels like the sweetness is in a constant battle to keep any bitter notes present from longer infusions at bay. The liquor is a deep dark red that’s almost opaque.

This tea tastes great now, and will only improve with age.

Note: Only a small amount of this tea is available.