Grade Special “2101” Liu BaoWuzhou · Traditional storage

A 1996 Liu Bao from the Wuzhou tea area, made from Grade Special leaf and packed 500 g to a bamboo basket, 12 baskets to a case, then aged in traditional storage. “2101” is the factory’s own number. Within a case of 12, the lids are woven two ways: a grid (井) pattern and a net pattern. Liu Bao is a dark tea that began in, and is still mainly made in, Liubao Township, Cangwu County, Wuzhou, Guangxi, later spreading to more than twenty counties in the province. One bud with two or three leaves is picked, spread, fixed at a low temperature, rolled and dried, then graded Special and one to six. Known as red, strong, aged and mellow, it improves the longer it is kept. Its main markets are Guangdong, Guangxi and Hong Kong, with exports to Southeast Asia.

Aroma: mainly aged, with some ginseng and a light woody note; clearing and relaxing. Liquor: deep red-brown and clear. Taste: comfortable in the mouth, the aroma stays on the lips and teeth, and it leaves the body at ease.