Many teas are not suitable for direct steeping in boiling water. For example, green tea, young or lightly aged raw Pu'er, black tea, and even oolong tea.

Teas that are suitable for steeping tend to be coarser and older, such as dark teas or white teas that have been aged longer.

If we consider steeping a tea for an entire night or day and it still isn't bitter or astringent, and is even better than when brewed, the likely candidate would be old Liubao tea.

Old Liubao tea can be brewed, steeped, or boiled. It is highly cost-effective, easy to store, beneficial to health, and most importantly, suitable for the majority of people's constitutions.

This makes it all the more remarkable.

This is also why I have come to appreciate and endorse Liubao tea more and more.

The longer I spend in Wuzhou, Guangxi, and Liubao Town, the more I fall in love with Liubao tea, whether it's made using traditional methods yielding the “Liubao character,” or modern processes producing rich, dark, aged flavors.

I am increasingly influenced by the local custom of drinking Liubao tea here.

In the mountains of Liubao Town, laborers often drink fresh tea. Whether it's tender tea from the first flush, pre-Ming tea, or autumnal tea, they simply take a handful of dry leaves, put them in a thermos bottle, and after half an hour, or even an entire night, pour out the tea to drink themselves, take it up the mountain while working, or serve guests who come by.

They say that this method makes the Liubao tea “more mature” and “tastier”!

Over the past seven years, while making, learning about, and sharing tea in the mountains of Liubao, I've followed this practice and found that this way of drinking tea is indeed delightful. The taste is completely different from brewing, truly amazing and surprising.

Recently, over the last couple of months, I have developed a strong preference for steeping Liubao tea overnight. In the evening, I place the leftover leaves from a previous Brew into a steeping pot and add boiling water;

or I directly take some dry leaves, put them into the steeping pot, quickly rinse them with warm or boiling water, then discard the rinse water before adding boiling water again;

I close the lid, go to sleep, and let it steep overnight.

In the morning, I pour out the tea, fill a Cup, and drink it straight away – one word: refreshing! Two words: really refreshing!

It's not just the taste buds that are refreshed, but the whole body and mind.

The color is bright red, sometimes deepening to a wine red;

The flavor is thick like red bean paste, becoming smooth and sweet;

The sensation is invigorating as you drink it in large gulps, leaving your stomach and whole body feeling great!

After drinking it consistently for several days, you will find that your body and digestive system feel much lighter. Tea enthusiasts with a suitable constitution and those who tend to retain moisture will be pleasantly surprised.

This may change many tea enthusiasts' views on not drinking tea left overnight;

It may also change their opinion of Liubao tea.

To fall in love with steeping old Liubao tea, start with a modern process “ripe” Liubao tea.

I recommend starting with a slightly aged, high-quality modern process Liubao tea that doesn't have any off-flavors.

If you're unsure at first, try brewing a few infusions in a Gaiwan or a clay Teapot, then transfer the leaves to a steeping pot, using a leaf-to-water ratio of 1:200 or higher, and steep it overnight with boiling water. Give it a try, and you'll see.

Then, try steeping dry leaves overnight and compare which method you prefer.