Liu Bao Cha

This aged Liu Bao Heicha from 2002 offers a profoundly grounding and complex profile. Expect rich notes of damp earth and old growth wood, possibly with a subtle hint of betel nut or a clean mineral q. It leans earthy, woody and smooth.

Water around 95–100 °C (203–212 °F). In a mug, steep 3–5 min. For gongfu, use 5–7 g per 100 ml, 10–20 s steeps (10–20+ rounds). You'll get to see how the flavor changes across multiple rounds. Rinse the leaves once with boiling water before your first real steep. It cleans off storage dust and gets the flavor going.

Grown in Guangxi, China. This batch is from the 2002 harvest.

Starts at $8.00 from Bitterleaf Teas, or about $0.03/g. A 250g package gets you around 42 gongfu sessions at ~6 g each, which works out to about $0.18 per session. Explore more dark teas on Teadar.