2005 Harvest Farmers Aged Wild Liubao Dark Tea, 50g

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Place of origin: A tea farm deep in the mountains of Guangxi province, south China
Tea tree: Over 100 year old wild Camelia Sinensis
Process: Traditional, pan-fried over wood-fired wok, hand-rolled
Aroma: Mellow sweetness, woody notes, delicate flower
Flavour: Mellow, earthy and full-bodied, smooth, sweet aftertaste

I’ve been in love with Liubao ever since I first tried it. Back in 2016 my husband and I lived for a year among the Karst mountains of Guilin down in South China. It was there that my love affair with traditional Chinese tea truly began. Back then we were only just starting out on our journey into teas beyond green, and were enamoured with the bold flavours of Lapsang Souchong and Pu’er. Despite living in Guangxi province, the home of Liubao, for that whole year, we had failed to come across this lesser-known tea. On the very last day before we were due to leave and move back to my hometown that we decided to drink in the sights one last time. It was then that we had the good fortune to venture into a small teahouse and meet the owner, who sat down and shared a cup of local Liubao tea with us. It was an unforgettable experience, and I’ve been in love with the flavours ever since!

I sing the praises of Liubao not just because I lived in the place where it originates from – it is so much deeper than that. The unique flavours, so different to other teas, capture you as you drink, taking you on a journey into the distinctive terroir where the leaves have grown up in. Each sip feels as if you are walking along the tea terraces in Guangxi, breathing in the fresh, warm air and drinking next to the small streams at the edges of the fields.

This Liubao has been aged for over ten years, stored in the tea garden farmhouses to allow for complex, honeyed flavours to develop in the leaves. The tea should be steeped with boiling water, allowing the fragrance and flavours to be released into the air. Keep smelling and you will discover robust woody notes and a hint of betelnut that follow. Finally comes sweet fruit and then flowers, mellow like a dessert wine. Upon drinking, there is a wildness to the flavour, the woody notes evoking a sense of the forest floor, then the smell of fresh rain in the grass growing at the foot of the tea trees.

This tea is perfect for when the days begin to get shorter and autumn and winter are on their way. I recommend brewing around 4-5 times in your teapot, then transfer the leaves to a glass or clay kettle where you can 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.

Find out more about Yaoyao and Sixian(四閑齋):
Instagram: sixian_tea
Website: sixian.life

产品名称：2005年农家野生六堡茶
产地：广西深山处
原料：百年野生老茶树
工艺：古法柴火杀青揉捻
香气：陈香，木质香，清雅花香
滋味：醇甜蜜韵，茶气十足，生津回甘

关于六堡茶，我从来不吝于对它的赞美。2016年，我和先生在广西桂林生活了整一年，也是在那里，开始了我的茶之路。可惜的是，那时的六堡并不受人关注，刚开始喝茶的我们，每天沉迷于正火热的正山小种和普洱的世界里，即使在原产地，也竟并没有听说过六堡的大名。直到临走的某一天，为了把这座城市好好地留在记忆里，于是满大街地闲逛，才看到一家专营六堡的茶店，进屋坐了坐，老板热情地给我们泡了一支老六堡，自此再也没有忘记过这个滋味。

但我对六堡的热情并不只是因为我在它生长的地方居住过一年，而是它独特的口感和迷人的风味，明显的地域特征赋予了六堡不同于其他任何一类茶的特质，个性张扬，自成一格。

这款农家六堡，经过十数年的陈化，多了一份陈年的甘醇，以沸水冲泡，淡淡的松烟香，然后木质香，槟榔香，花果香渐次析出，滋味稠醇顺滑，入口甘甜，带有十足的野生茶的骨鲠。秋冬季时，我偏爱在冲泡四五冲之后置于炉上小火炖煮，茶香四溢，齿颊留香。

此茶以沸水冲泡或者煮饮，最能表现出陈年六堡的绝佳风味。