Lubaocha

Lubaocha (绿宝石茶, lǜbǎoshí chá — “Green Emerald Tea”) — an innovative Guizhou green tea created in 2003 by the “father of Guizhou tea cultivation” Mou Yìngshū (牟应书, Mù Yìngshū), a tea scientist who achieved a conceptual breakthrough: he proved that premium quality tea could be produced from medium-grade raw material (one bud with two to three leaves) — material traditionally considered “low-grade.” This principle — “high-end tea from medium-grade raw material” (以中低端原料制高端茶) — overturned the traditional paradigm that tied quality exclusively to the tenderness of shoots. Lubaocha became the calling card of Guizhou tea on the international stage: it is exported to Germany, the USA, and Japan.

1. Classification and Origin:

• Type: Green tea (non-oxidized). By form — granulated pearl tea (珠茶/盘花茶, zhūchá / pánhuāchá), rolled into tight round “spirals.” Technology — pan-fired (炒青) with final heating and drying.

• Category: One of the “Ten Famous Teas of Guizhou” (贵州十大名茶). Product of ecological origin protection (国家生态原产地保护产品). In 2014 — national geographical indication protection. Since 2006 — multiple gold medal winner at International Tea Congresses.

• Origin: China, Guìzhōu Province (贵州, Guìzhōu). The precise geographical indication zone covers a number of counties in the province specializing in high-altitude organic tea cultivation. Raw material comes from old tree plantations (树龄多超50年) — tea bushes over 50 years old.

• Geographic coordinates: Guizhou Province, approximately 26–28° North latitude, 106–108° East longitude.

2. History and Cultural Significance:

• History: Lubaocha is one of China’s youngest “famous” teas: birth date — 2003. Its creator — Mou Yìngshū (牟应书), legendary Guizhou tea scientist who devoted decades to studying local tea resources. In 2003, using local tea bush populations and innovative granulation technology, Mou Yingshu created a tea radically different from traditional green teas: instead of the most tender buds, he used shoots of “one bud — two to three leaves,” transforming them into dense, heavy “emerald” granules with exceptional brewing endurance (7+ infusions).

  Recognition came quickly: since 2006 — continuous series of gold awards at international competitions. In 2013 — “Famous Trademark of Guizhou.” In 2014 — geographical indication protection. In the 2010s, the tea began to be exported to Germany, the USA, Japan, and Hong Kong, becoming one of the few Guizhou teas with international distribution.

• Name:

  • “Lü” (绿) — “green”: the color of the tea.
  • “Baosha” (宝石) — “precious stone, gem”: a metaphor describing the dense, glossy granules resembling polished emeralds.

• Cultural significance: Lubaocha is a symbol of the “new wave” of Guizhou tea cultivation: not copying eastern Chinese styles (like Meitan Cuiya, inspired by Longjing), but creating its own original type of tea. Mou Yingshu’s philosophy — “quality is determined not by the tenderness of raw material, but by processing mastery” — became the manifesto of the Guizhou tea avant-garde.

3. Botanical Description and Raw Material:

• Variety / Cultivar: Main cultivar — Fúdǐng Dàbáichá (福鼎大白茶, Fúdǐng Dà Bái Chá) — clonal medium-leaf variety of Camellia sinensis var. sinensis. Additionally — Guìzhōu local populations (贵州本地群体种) of bush type, with many bushes over 50 years old. Leaf — elliptical, fleshy, thick and brittle; weight of one hundred buds with three leaves — about 70 g.

• Picking: Picking standard — one bud with two to three leaves (一芽二三叶, yī yá èr sān yè) — fundamentally different from most “famous” green teas that use the most tender buds. This is Mou Yingshu’s conceptual decision: more mature raw material provides more extractive substances, ensuring outstanding brewing endurance and fullness of flavor.

• Raw material requirements: Fresh, healthy shoots from plantations that have passed ecological certification. Processing — on the day of picking.

4. Terroir and Cultivation:

• Climate: Guizhou plateau. Subtropical humid monsoon climate. Abundant cloudiness, abundance of diffused light, significant diurnal temperature variations. Conditions characteristic of all Guizhou teas: increased content of amino acids and aromatic substances.

• Growing altitude: Predominantly 700–1200 meters above sea level.

• Soils: Acidic yellow soils (黄壤), characteristic of Guizhou, with natural content of selenium and zinc.

• Ecology: Guizhou is one of China’s most ecologically clean provinces. High forest coverage, minimal industrial pollution. Many tea gardens are organic.

• Specialty: Use of old trees (树龄超50年) — not a marketing ploy, but a conscious choice: roots of old bushes penetrate deeper into the soil, extracting more minerals and forming a more complex flavor profile.

5. Production Technology:

Lubaocha technology is Mou Yingshu’s proprietary development, combining traditional principles of Guizhou tea cultivation with an innovative approach to shaping.

• Incoming quality control (鲜叶抽检 — xiānyè chōujiǎn): Laboratory quality control of raw material before processing.

• Spreading and withering (摊青/自然萎凋 — tān qīng / zìrán wěidiāo): Natural withering for 4–6 hours.

• Fixation (杀青 — shāqīng): At 180–200°C, with alternating “shaking” and “smothering” (抖闷结合, dǒu mèn jiéhé) — the master alternately tosses the leaves (to release steam) and presses (for deep heating). This ensures uniform fixation of coarser raw material.

• Rolling (揉捻 — róuniǎn): Mechanical, staged, with variable pressure (机械分段加压). More intensive than for tender teas — necessary for forming dense granules from mature raw material.

• Drying and aroma development (干燥提香 — gānzào tíxiāng): Low-temperature slow heating and drying (80°C, 低温慢烘) — gentle process preserving chestnut aroma. Moisture content — ≤5%.

• Precision processing (精制 — jīngzhì): Sifting (筛分), color sorting (色选), batch equalization (匀堆). High level of standardization.

• Specialty: The entire process uses bamboo and wooden tools, without contact with metal (全程竹木器具避金属氧化) — Mou Yingshu’s philosophy aimed at preventing oxidation and preserving aroma purity.

6. Organoleptic Characteristics:

• Dry leaf appearance: Dense, heavy granules of spiral form (颗粒盘花状, kēlì pánhuā zhuàng — “spiral flower granules”). Color — dark green with oily luster (绿润显毫). Down — noticeable, silvery. Granules — uniform, heavy to the touch (紧实重实).

• Dry leaf aroma: Chestnut aroma (栗香, lì xiāng) — dominant note. Floral-fruity overtones (花果香) in young tea. “Roasted rice aroma” (炒米香, chǎomǐ xiāng) — note of traditional “fire” processing.

• Liquor aroma: Chestnut, persistent and deep. Unfolds over many infusions.

• Taste: Fresh (鲜爽, xiānshuǎng) — amino acid note. Dense and full-bodied (醇厚, chúnhòu) — pronounced liquor viscosity (粘稠感强). Returning sweetness (回甘, huígān) — stable and long-lasting. Main feature — exceptional brewing endurance: 7+ infusions with preservation of taste and aroma. This is significantly higher than most green teas (3–5 infusions), and is explained by the use of more mature raw material with increased content of extractive substances.

• Liquor color: Yellow-green, bright and clear (黄绿明亮).

• Spent leaves (wet leaves): Tender green, lively, soft shoots that unfold from granules into full “buds” (嫩绿鲜活、柔软匀整). Leaf — whole, uniform.

7. Chemical Composition:

• Polyphenols (catechins): Content — ≥27.5% dry weight. Free radical neutralization capacity — 18 times higher than vitamin E (according to research data).

• Amino acids (including L-theanine): Significant content — ensures freshness and “umami.” More mature raw material (one bud with two to three leaves) contains fewer amino acids than the most tender buds, but technology compensates for this through optimization of the fixation and drying process.

• Alkaloids: Caffeine — moderate content.

• Fluorine: Noticeable content — contributes to tooth enamel protection (护齿防龋).

• Minerals: Potassium, magnesium, zinc, manganese, fluorine — determined by Guizhou soils.

• Vitamins: Vitamin C, B-group vitamins.

8. Health Properties:

• Powerful antioxidant action: Polyphenols (≥27.5%) with free radical neutralization effectiveness 18 times higher than vitamin E.

• Weight control and lipid profile: Catechins accelerate fat breakdown with 30% higher effectiveness than average green tea.

• Tooth protection (护齿防龋): Fluorine suppresses cariogenic bacteria and strengthens enamel.

• Tonic effect: Caffeine and L-theanine.

• Digestive improvement: Polyphenols stimulate fat breakdown.

• Important: the listed properties are based on publicly available data and are not medical recommendations.

9. Brewing:

• Hot method (热泡法, rè pào fǎ):

  • Water temperature: 85–90°C.
  • Tea quantity: 3 g per 150 ml water (1:50 ratio).
  • Vessel: White porcelain gaiwan — best choice for controlling aroma and infusion time.
  • Process: Infusions 10–15 seconds (1st–3rd infusion); 20–25 seconds (4th–7th infusion). Tea withstands 7 or more brewings.

• Cold method (冷泡法, lěng pào fǎ):

  • 1 g tea per 50 ml cold water.
  • Refrigerator — 30 minutes.
  • Result — enhanced freshness (鲜爽度提升).

• Note: do not use boiling water (>90°C) — destroys biologically active substances and increases bitterness. Fresh tea is recommended to “air” (醒茶) for 7 days in a dark place. After opening — consume within 10 days.

10. Storage:

• Store in airtight container, in dark and cool place.
• Optimal — refrigerator at 0–5°C.
• Storage period — up to 12 months.
• After opening — consume within 10 days for maximum freshness.

11. Market and Price Range:

Lubaocha is a tea with democratic price architecture: the philosophy of “high-end tea from medium-grade raw material” means that even basic grades offer outstanding price-to-quality ratio.

Price guidelines: Special Supreme (特级上等) — from 500 yuan per jin; Special (特级) — 200–400 yuan; First (一级) — less than 200 yuan.

• How to avoid counterfeits:

  • Buy from verified sellers with ecological origin or geographical indication marking.
  • Evaluate form: dense, heavy “spiral” granules with oily luster. Loose, light balls — sign of counterfeit.
  • Check endurance: 7+ infusions — authenticity marker. If tea “expires” after 3–4 — suspicion.
  • Evaluate aroma: chestnut, persistent. Weak or “chemical” — counterfeit.

12. Authenticity Identification:

• Mou Yìngshū (牟应书) — “father of Guizhou tea cultivation,” whose concept “high-end tea from medium-grade raw material” overturned the traditional notion that quality green tea could only be created from the most tender buds. His approach opened the path to rational use of Guizhou tea resources.

• Brewing endurance — 7+ infusions — puts Lubaocha on par with oolongs and pu-erhs in “longevity.” For green tea, this is an exceptionally rare indicator.

• Antioxidant effectiveness of Lubaocha polyphenols — 18 times higher than vitamin E — one of the most impressive indicators among green teas.

• Complete rejection of metal tools (全程竹木器具) — not retro-stylization, but conscious technological choice: bamboo and wood do not catalyze polyphenol oxidation, preserving freshness and brightness of green color.

• Lubaocha is one of the few Guizhou teas that successfully entered developed country markets (Germany, USA, Japan), confirming its compliance with international quality and safety standards.

13. Recommended Sources:

• Comparison with other Guizhou and granulated green teas:

• Dūyún Máojiān (都匀毛尖): Twisted needle tea from whole buds. Duyun — more delicate and “refined”; Lubaocha — denser, more enduring and “democratic” in price.

• Méitán Cuìyá (湄潭翠芽): Flat tea from whole buds. Meitan — more visually exquisite; Lubaocha — more concentrated in taste and enduring in brewing.

• Yǒngxī Huoqing (涌溪火青): From Anhui. Also granulated, also exceptionally enduring. Yongxi — with apricot liquor from 20-hour charcoal drying; Lubaocha — with more classic green profile and chestnut note.

• Zhèjiāng Zhǔchá (浙江珠茶): Classic export “pearl tea” (Gunpowder). Zhucha — more mass-market and simple; Lubaocha — significantly more complex and aromatic, with pronounced terroir character.

In conclusion:

Lubaocha is a manifesto tea, a protest tea against the age-old dogma “only from the most tender buds — great tea.” Mou Yingshu proved that processing mastery can transform “ordinary” raw material into a product of extraordinary quality: dense emerald granules unfolding over seven or more infusions, with chestnut aroma and oily sweetness — this is not a compromise, but an independent style that does not yield to teas from the most tender buds, and in some ways surpasses them. If Duyun Maojian is the elegance of Guizhou, and Meitan Cuiya is its technological prowess, then Lubaocha is its rebellious spirit: a green emerald born from heresy and mastery.