Liu Bao Cha

This aged Liu Bao offers a deep, comforting character, with prominent earthy and woody notes intertwined with hints of damp forest floor and a subtle, sweet undertone. The infusion is smooth and groun. It leans earthy, woody and mushroom.

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 from the Wild cultivar. This batch is from the 1998 harvest.

Starts at $49.27 from Purple Cloud Tea House, or about $0.49/g. A 100g package gets you around 17 gongfu sessions at ~6 g each, which works out to about $2.94 per session. Explore more dark teas on Teadar.