Tracing history is a delightful adventure. In the tea industry, exploring the historical process of a particular type of tea is like journeying to a distant plateau, searching for the source of the mighty Yangtze River; at some point, you'll be struck by a scene you never imagined.
In early April, we traveled to Wuzhou, Guangxi, where we wanted to learn about the understated yet famous Liubao tea. Previously, Liubao tea was primarily exported to overseas Chinese communities, enjoying a high reputation in Southeast Asia, but most tea enthusiasts in China were unfamiliar with it. Its obscurity, however, gives it a unique, profound, and enduring charm. For example, the cold-water fermentation process of Liubao tea was developed in 1958, and Wuzhou Zhongcha Tea Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Wuzhou Zhongcha) has inherited decades of expertise in Liubao tea's cellar aging process, a technique unparalleled in the tea industry.
History is always full of coincidences and drama, and the development of Liubao tea's processing is no exception.
Liubao tea, named after the township (now a town).
Historical Famous Tea and the Disruption of its Craftsmanship
Tracing the history of Liubao tea's processing, we start from its origins. First, it is a historically famous tea. During the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty, Cangwu Liubao tea was listed among the twenty-four famous teas due to its betel nut aroma. Later, it became a symbol of homesickness for Chinese laborers working in Southeast Asia and a life-saving tea for those working hard in humid and hot regions, becoming popular in Southeast Asia for over a hundred years—this was its most glorious period.
The Hekou Street Wharf in Liubao Town,
one of the starting points of the ancient tea boat route.
Unfortunately, like many teas, its processing techniques were disrupted due to historical reasons.
During the Anti-Japanese War, both the supply and demand sides of Liubao tea suffered devastating blows. The waterway routes essential for Liubao tea exports were blockaded by the Japanese army, and the entire Southeast Asian region was ravaged by war, resulting in a complete loss of market. At that time, Liubao tea production almost ceased. It can be said that since the Qing Dynasty, the specific details of Liubao tea's processing and the exact taste of its famous betel nut aroma have been almost completely lost. The only sources of reference are some historical documents and people's taste memories. In 1930, the Guangxi University Weekly published the following text: "After picking the tea leaves, place them in boiling water until they become soft, about 5 minutes. Then remove them and place them in a basket, pressing them with your feet until the leaves curl up. Then dry them over a fire. After drying, steam them until soft, then store them in a basket for sale." This is the earliest record of the production process of Liubao tea. In this brief description, we can see that the blanching process using boiling water is different from modern techniques. The phrase "stored for sale" essentially refers to the processes of cooling after steaming, natural drying, and aging (fermentation), which are similar to modern techniques.
In another historical document, "Tea Picking and Processing Methods (Liubao Tea)" (1957) describes: "The processing process of Liubao tea is: blanching (stir-frying in a pot) → rolling → piling for fermentation → re-rolling → drying." This is the first record in the history of Liubao tea production that explicitly states that "piling" is for "fermentation." Clearly, from the changes in the blanching method and the evolution of the fermentation concept from empirical practice to a defined process, we can perceive the evolution and maturation of Liubao tea processing techniques.
In the traditional processing of Liubao tea, a wooden rolling machine is
used to roll the tea leaves after they have been killed from green.
This might be a general picture before the disruption of Liubao tea processing techniques. In today's Liubao tea market, one branch has inherited and developed this process, which is known in the market as "farmer's tea" or "traditional process." However, a recent article explained that due to several disruptions in this traditional process (including one after the founding of PRC), the production standards of farmer's tea merchants in Wuzhou are not uniform, and the quality varies greatly. Some even simply borrow the classification method of Pu-erh raw tea, calling it Liubao raw tea, resulting in a rather chaotic situation.
The Crisis of Tea Merchant Processing Methods
The trajectory of historical development always follows this pattern: necessity is the mother of invention. If the traditional process mentioned above strives to respect ancient traditions, then the tea merchant processing method, the source of the current Wuzhou large-scale tea factory process, is a unique fruit that has blossomed in the development of Liubao tea techniques.
Regarding the origin of this lineage and its sensory characteristics, a historical document provides us with clear information. The book "Chinese Tea Processing Techniques" records: "Before 1958, the Wuzhou branch of the Guangxi Provincial Tea Company of China (now Wuzhou China Tea) adopted the Liubao tea processing method of Wuzhou tea merchants, first steaming and then piling. The piling process generally lasted 18-24 hours, with the core temperature reaching 70-80℃. The appearance and color changed quickly, and the tea liquor deepened in color, but the tea leaves hardened. After processing, the finished product could not meet the quality requirements for aging after long-term storage, and the foreign market reacted strongly to this."
At the entrance to the highway in Liubao Town, the route of
the ancient tea boat route can be seen on a giant rock.
There are two key points here: "adopting the Liubao tea processing method of Wuzhou tea merchants" and "the foreign market reacted strongly to this."
Let's discuss the latter first. Many people don't know that in that historical period, for the people at that time, this "strong reaction" was a very important matter, both economically and psychologically. The People's Republic of China had only recently been established, resources were scarce, and everything needed rebuilding. Exports were extremely important. The aforementioned "Tea Picking and Processing Methods (Liubao Tea)" (1957) also records the propaganda at the time emphasizing the special significance of expanding tea exports: "Exporting one ton of tea can be exchanged for 10-12 tons of steel or 20 tons of gasoline, and 180 piculs of tea can be exchanged for a new tractor..." Therefore, the strong reaction from the foreign market to the quality of the tea would have caused many people sleepless nights.
Now let's talk about "adopting the Liubao tea processing method of Wuzhou tea merchants." According to Manager Xie of the product development department of Wuzhou China Tea, during the era of the ancient tea trade route, there were many tea merchants. However, these merchants did not directly export the raw tea; they would generally process it further according to their own requirements, and these processes might include blending and piling. It can be said that the Liubao tea exported to Southeast Asia in the past was not simply raw tea produced by farmers. Regarding how Liubao tea was processed after reaching the hands of the Guangzhou Thirteen Factories tea merchants via the tea waterway during the Qing Dynasty, there is currently a lack of reliable historical records, which is a major regret in Liubao tea research.
Today, the sculptures at Hekou Wharf in Liubao Town depict
the scene of tea merchants collecting tea at that time.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, in 1954, the state strengthened centralized control over tea, prohibiting private merchants from entering the production areas to purchase tea, and all tea was managed by the China Tea Company. Although the tea merchants' methods were still being used at the time, problems arose, as the quality and taste of the tea could not be consistently maintained. There are two reasons for this. First, according to Manager Xie of Wuzhou Zhongcha, there were many tea merchants in the past, and each had different techniques, mostly related to the experience of the tea masters. The so-called "continuation" of these methods therefore varied greatly.
Another reason is that Liubao tea was packaged in bamboo baskets and mostly transported by water. Due to poor transportation conditions, various human and non-human factors could cause the tea to undergo a slight fermentation process. However, with the expansion of tea production and the improvement of transportation conditions, the quality of exported tea changed, which actually aligns with the laws of tea development. In different eras, with changes in transportation environments and drinking preferences, tea processing techniques have also changed, either actively or passively, and Liubao tea, by chance, ushered in a new era.
Inside the natural brick and wood warehouse of Wuzhou Zhongcha, Liubao tea is packaged in bamboo baskets, a method unique to Liubao tea.
A New Dawn: Cold Water Fermentation
Just when all seemed lost, a new path emerged. If it weren't for the feedback from foreign customers, the milestone cold water fermentation process for Liubao tea might have been developed several years later.
As mentioned earlier, in the mid-1950s, it was reported that the tea soup of Liubao tea was not red enough or bright enough, failing to meet export requirements. In fact, this problem wasn't unique to Liubao tea; Pu'er tea also experienced similar issues at that time. The previous article, "The Story of Ripe Pu'er: The Most Detailed Chronology of the Origin of Ripe Pu'er Tea," states that in 1950, some people reported that "customers in Hong Kong who were used to drinking red-soup Pu'er tea (raw tea) simply couldn't get used to it." Both of these feedbacks pointed to insufficient fermentation.
Pu'er tea enthusiasts are quite familiar with this period of Pu'er tea history. In 1959, the Guangdong Tea Import and Export Company began experimental research on accelerating the post-fermentation of Pu'er tea, and developed its own new Pu'er tea fermentation process, which was then called "Guangdong Pu'er tea." However, many people don't know that Liubao tea also underwent a modern technological innovation during this period. The earliest written record of the research and application of the cold-water fermentation technique can be found in "Tea Refining Technology and Machinery" (Collection of Tea Technology Innovation Materials, Volume 3), published by Light Industry Press in 1959. An article in the book, titled "Experience of Wuzhou Tea Factory (then affiliated with the Wuzhou Branch of the Guangxi Provincial Branch of China Tea Company) in Adopting Cold Fermentation for Liubao Tea," details the reasons for the development of the cold-water fermentation process and its successful application.
To Be Continued
