Name: 1990s Premium Liupao, Duoteli
Place of origin: Guangxi province, south China
Cultivar: Native cultivar from Guangxi Province
Processing: Cold water pile fermentation.
Aroma: Herbal and woody aromas, with a subtle medicinal note.
Flavour: Excellent rich and mellow flavour, with a long-lasting sweet aftertaste.
 
According to the records kept for this tea, it was a batch of classic old basket Liupao made for exportation during the 1990s. Most of the tea from this batch has already been sold, but a fairly small portion was put aside and has been kept in the warehouse since then. Professional storage has allowed it to develop into an excellent tea over the years.
 
Due to the fermentation process, it is normal for the first few steeps of a Liupao dark tea to have some unpleasant smell, but I didn’t find any from this one even from the first brewing. Instead there is a calm woody aroma with a subtle medicinal note from the outset, with excellent rich and mellow flavours throughout the whole session.
 
My personal preference for brewing this tea is to steep with boiling water around 5 times in a clay teapot, then transfer the leaves to a glass or clay kettle where you can continue to brew over a rolling boil. This will stew out the more complex flavours that remain within the leaves, revealing the true depth of flavour that has developed over the years.
 
Brewing suggestions:
Clay teapot (zisha or nixing clay)
Ratio: 1:20 (5g leaves for a 100ml teapot)
Water temp: 100℃
Tea infusion: Rinse leaves 1 time. Steep for 10 seconds for the first few infusions, then increase steeping time when the colour and flavour begins to fade.