2012 Aged Liu Bao Dark Tea
Camphor, aged wood and dried fruit in a Liu Bao with well over a decade of age behind it.
A Liu Bao from Wuzhou, Guangxi, pressed in 2012 and aged since. The years have softened the earthiness of young Liu Bao into camphor, aged wood and dried fruit, in a red, rounded cup.
Sensory profile
You should taste
How it unfolds
Where it sits
That is 32 mg in one serving (8 oz cup (240ml)), a concentration of 13.3 mg per 100 ml. The scale above ranks whole servings, and servings differ in size, so a larger drink can sit further right while being weaker cup for cup.
Editorial estimate, not a laboratory measurement
Related gear
| Brewing method | Gaiwan or Mug |
|---|---|
| Brew ratio | 1:20 |
| Leaf & water per infusion | 5g → 100g |
| Grind size | Loose or Compressed Leaf |
| Water temperature | 212°F / 100°C |
| Target brew time | 15-20 seconds for the first infusions, plus about 10 seconds each round |
| Serving used for caffeine | 8 oz cup (240ml) — see the mug or teapot version below |
What you need
- 5 g compressed or loose dark tea
- 100 g filtered water at 100°C
Required gear
Step-by-step protocol
- 0:00Warm the gaiwan or pot with hot water and discard it. Add 5 g of leaf and smell the warmed leaf before brewing.
- 0:20Rinse: cover with water at 100°C and pour off immediately. This wakes the leaf; do not drink it.
- 0:40First infusion — pour off after 15 seconds, decanting completely.
- 1:20Second infusion, 20 seconds.
- 2:05Third infusion, 25 seconds. From here add about 10 seconds each round.
- 2:55Keep going until the liquor pales — good leaf gives ten or more infusions.
Brewing it in a mug or teapot
The gongfu method above packs a lot of leaf into a small vessel. This version is for a 240 ml cup — the serving the caffeine figure describes.
- Leaf
- 2 g
- Water
- 240 ml
- Temperature
- 212°F / 100°C
- Steep
- about 3 minutes
- 0:00Warm the mug or teapot with hot water and pour it away, so the brewing water does not lose heat to cold ceramic.
- 0:15Add 2 g of leaf.
- 0:30Rinse: cover the leaf with water at 100°C and pour it off after a few seconds. Do not drink it.
- 0:50Pour 240 g of water at 100°C over the leaf, cover, and start the timer.
- 3:50Lift the leaf out or pour the tea off the leaf completely. Leaf left in the cup keeps extracting and turns the last mouthful bitter.
Liu Bao is forgiving: guides brew it grandpa style, 2 to 3 g in a large mug topped up with hot water. The same leaf gives several more cups.
What it may be good for
How strong is it?
We list about 32 mg for an 8 oz cup.
Boil the spent leaf
After five or six gongfu steeps, move the leaf to a small pot, cover it with fresh water and simmer it on low heat for three to five minutes. Aged Liu Bao gives a rich last cup this way.
What to watch out for
- Caffeine affects everyone differently. If you are pregnant or nursing, sensitive to caffeine, or have been told to limit it, check with your doctor about how much tea is right for you.
A Liu Bao from Wuzhou, Guangxi, pressed in 2012 and aged since. The years have softened the earthiness of young Liu Bao into camphor, aged wood and dried fruit, in a red, rounded cup. Brewed gongfu style with boiling water, with a last pot simmered from the spent leaf.
Origin & Story
A young Liu Bao is strong, bitter and astringent. Give it years and it becomes a smooth, rich, red tea. That is the whole bet of aging dark tea, and it is why a Liu Bao is often sold by its year of pressing.
The aging began in the factory, where piling turns the leaf's pungent, vegetal scent into a sweet and mellow one, and continued in the basket. Traditionally Liu Bao was pressed into big baskets of 40 to 50 kg and stored in air-raid tunnels for several years, then moved to warehouses after the first one to three years for further aging. Modern makers use baskets of about 1 kg and much shorter first stages, so the later years are mostly up to whoever holds the tea.
What the years leave behind is described fairly consistently. Older Liu Bao tends to show camphor, aged wood and dried fruit, with a redder liquor and a rounder, sweeter feel than young tea. A tea from 2012 has well over a decade behind it: long enough to have lost much of its young edge, and still a long way from the old teas of the 1950s to the 1970s that collectors prize.
Liu Bao of 20 years or more is called deeply aged, and some drinkers brew it a few degrees under the boil, at 95 to 98°C, to protect its fine aroma. For a tea of this age the usual advice holds: fully boiling water and a short rinse.
Rinse 5 g in a 100 ml gaiwan, pour off the first infusion at 15 to 20 seconds and add ten seconds a round; when the infusions run thin, simmer the spent leaf in a small pot for three to five minutes for one last, deeper cup.
Reading the Flavor Profile
| Axis | Score |
|---|---|
| Sweetness | 72/100 |
| Acidity | 18/100 |
| Bitterness | 30/100 |
| Body | 86/100 |
| Aroma | 88/100 |
These values are comparative editorial positions within our own catalog, calibrated so entries can be ranked against each other. They are not laboratory measurements.
How much caffeine is in 2012 Aged Liu Bao Dark Tea?
One serving, 8 oz cup (240ml), contains approximately 32 mg of caffeine.
What temperature should I use for 2012 Aged Liu Bao Dark Tea?
Target 100°C (212°F).
How long should 2012 Aged Liu Bao Dark Tea be extracted?
Timing: 15-20 seconds for the first infusions, plus about 10 seconds each round. Method: Gaiwan or Mug. Ratio: 5g per 100ml water (gaiwan). Grind or leaf format: Loose or Compressed Leaf.
Why does my 2012 Aged Liu Bao Dark Tea taste bitter?
In gongfu, bitterness comes from pours that run too long or from too little leaf for the vessel. Keep the early infusions short, pour the tea off the leaf completely every time, and fill the gaiwan or pot generously; an under-filled vessel tastes thin and tannic rather than gentle.
How old is old Liu Bao?
Liu Bao of 20 years or more is called deeply aged, and vintages from the 1950s to the 1970s are the ones collectors prize. A 2012 Liu Bao sits well short of that, but it has lost the roughness of a young tea.
Does aged Liu Bao need cooler water?
Most guides say to use fully boiling water, 99 to 100°C. Some drinkers brew very old tea, 20 years or more, at 95 to 98°C to protect its delicate aroma, but that is a preference rather than a rule.
What does camphor taste like in tea?
Camphor is a cool, resinous aroma that tea writers use for older Liu Bao and aged raw pu-erh. It reads as clean and a little medicinal, like pine or eucalyptus, and it is one of the signs that a dark tea has aged.
Who should avoid 2012 Aged Liu Bao Dark Tea?
Caffeine affects everyone differently. If you are pregnant or nursing, sensitive to caffeine, or have been told to limit it, check with your doctor about how much tea is right for you. This information is educational and is not medical advice. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, managing a cardiac or gastrointestinal condition, or taking prescription medication, discuss caffeine and botanical intake with a qualified healthcare professional before making changes.
What people say
Plain Porcelain Gaiwan, 110 ml
In this recipe: Gaiwan or small clay pot, 100–150 ml
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