Liu Bao

Liu Bao is the signature dark tea (heicha) of Guangxi province, produced in Wuzhou City and named after the historical Liubao Township in Cangwu County. Like pu-erh, it is a microbially post-fermented tea — kill-green and first rolling, then heaping and moist fermentation, then second rolling and drying, followed by wet-piling and long aging. Records of Liu Bao consumption go back over 1,500 years; it was historically traded along routes from Guangxi to Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macau, and the Chinese diaspora communities of Malaysia and Singapore. Aged Liu Bao is prized for a distinctive "betel-nut aroma" (binglang xiang).