Liu Bao Dark Tea
Camphor, wood and dried fruit in a deep, earthy cup: Guangxi's dark tea with the betel nut aroma.
Liu Bao is a dark tea from Liubao town in Cangwu County, Wuzhou, Guangxi, made by piling the leaf, steaming it into bamboo baskets and letting it age. The cup is red-brown, smooth and earthy, with camphor, wood and dried fruit.
Sensory profile
You should taste
How it unfolds
Where it sits
That is 34 mg in one serving (8 oz cup (240ml)), a concentration of 14.2 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
The caffeine count
We list about 34 mg for an 8 oz cup.
Always boiling
Liu Bao is usually brewed with water at 99 to 100°C after a rinse of about five seconds. Young, green-style lots do better at 90 to 95°C, and some drinkers brew very old tea a few degrees below the boil to keep its delicate aroma.
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.
Liu Bao is a dark tea from Liubao town in Cangwu County, Wuzhou, Guangxi, made by piling the leaf, steaming it into bamboo baskets and letting it age. The cup is red-brown, smooth and earthy, with camphor, wood and dried fruit. Brewed gongfu style in boiling water.
Origin & Story
Liu Bao comes from Liubao town in Cangwu County, in the hills above Wuzhou in Guangxi, and it has one of the longest stories of any Chinese tea. Local historians trace it back more than 1,500 years, and a county record of 1697 notes that the Liu Bao tea of Duoxian village keeps its rich flavor overnight. In the reign of the Jiaqing emperor, 1796 to 1820, it was counted among China's 24 famous teas for its aroma of betel nut, and it sold in quantity at the ports of Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Macau.
From those ports the tea followed the river and sea routes to Southeast Asia, as far as Kuala Lumpur, and in Malaysia it became an everyday drink in the tin-mining towns. In 1954 the state moved its making from hand work in many small workshops to a large factory at Wuzhou, and in 2014 the craft of making Liu Bao was added to China's national intangible cultural heritage list.
Liu Bao is a dark tea, made by piling and aging, and it is slower and gentler than most. By one account the leaf is pan-fired at 90 to 120°C to stop oxidation, rolled, then piled warm and damp, at around 50°C for 20 to 30 hours, until it turns from green to brassy. It is dried, steamed and pressed into large bamboo baskets, and aged in cool, humid places. The piling turns a pungent, vegetal smell into a sweet, mellow one.
The signature is binlang xiang, the aroma of betel nut, with camphor in older tea, a faint wood note and a slight, sweet fruitiness. Young Liu Bao is strong, bitter and astringent, and it is the years in the basket that smooth it into a red, rounded cup.
Put 5 g in a 100 ml gaiwan, rinse once with boiling water for about five seconds, pour the first infusion off at 15 to 20 seconds and add ten seconds a round; in a mug, 2 g in 240 ml of boiling water for about three minutes.
Reading the Flavor Profile
| Axis | Score |
|---|---|
| Sweetness | 72/100 |
| Acidity | 20/100 |
| Bitterness | 34/100 |
| Body | 84/100 |
| 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 Liu Bao Dark Tea?
One serving, 8 oz cup (240ml), contains approximately 34 mg of caffeine.
What temperature should I use for Liu Bao Dark Tea?
Target 100°C (212°F).
How long should 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 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.
What does betel nut aroma mean in Liu Bao?
Binlang xiang is the traditional description of Liu Bao's aroma: a sweet, woody, slightly fruity fragrance said to recall betel nut, the areca nut. There is no betel in the tea; the scent comes from the leaf and its aging.
Is Liu Bao the same as pu-erh?
No. Both are dark teas, made by piling and aging, but Liu Bao comes from Guangxi, from smaller-leaf varieties, and is piled more slowly and at lower heat than ripe pu-erh, which is made from the large leaf of Yunnan.
Should I rinse Liu Bao?
Yes. Pour boiling water over the leaf, wait about five seconds and pour it off; with compressed or very old tea a second short rinse is common. It wakes up the leaf after its years in the basket.
Who should avoid 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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