Liu an lan cha
From wikiCHA
This article is about the post-fermented black tea, liu'an. For the green tea of similar name, see Liu an gua pian (melon seed)
Contents |
Overview
Liu an lan cha (六安篮茶) is a post-fermented tea usually compressed into baskets (篮, lan) and aged. The majority of liu an is produced in and around Huizhou town, Qimen County, Anhui Province, China. Although originally intended for medicinal purposes, nowadays the tea is drunk mostly for pleasure.
Production
Like most hei cha, liu an begins similar to green tea and is aged to undergo flavor and aroma development via post-fermentation.
The green tea Liu an gua pian aka "Melon Seed" is the base material for this tea. Inferior and burnt leaves are removed, then roasted a second time (the first roast occurs during Liu an gua pian production) before resting outside overnight to "quench". Packing occurs the following morning. Leaves are steamed bamboo leaf wrapping and stuffed into a bamboo basket. Baskets generally contain 500g of liu an tea, which is then stored for two to three years before sale.
Becaause of the popularity of this tea amongst medicinal drinkers, other regions began to produce their own versions of liu an tea, including Hong Kong, Macau, Guangdong Province and Guangxi Province.
Production Gap and Effects, 1950s-early 1980s
As a result of the communist party's cultural reforms instituted in the 1950s and on into the early 1980s, luxuries and superstitions like liu an tea ceased. As a result, aged liu an is exceedingly rare. Its rarity during a renaissance of interest in aged tea and post-fermented tea, of course, has translated into higher prices. Although liu an from the late 1980s and early 1990s is not uncommon, and liu an from the 1950s and before is available but very expensive.
Brands
Sun Yi Shun is the most famous brand of liu an. While some claim this is because of superior production quality, it is perhaps because at present most extant older liu an is of Sun Yi Shun brand. Today as before, its popularity led many companies to fake Sun Yi Shun liu an baskets. Today, a company calling itself Sun Yi Shun produces liu an baskets using the same brand and logo as the pre-1950s Sun Yi Shun company, but it is unknown what the relation is between the two companies.
Brewing liu an
Liu an is traditionally brewed gongfu style. It is also tradition to brew a piece of the bamboo wrapping with the tea. Medicinally, dried aged mandarin orange peel is sometimes added to the tea, though this might add unsavory seasoning to unglazed pots, such as yixing teapots.
 Dry leaves of a liu an basket, showing traditional piece of bamboo wrapping |
 Same leaves, after brewing |
Vendors
- Hou De Asian Art
- Jing Tea Shop
- Imperial Tea Court
- Holy Mountain Tea Company
- Puerh Shop
- Teacuppa
- In Pursuit of Tea
Reviews
Fasi, Jason O'Connor. Cheap SYS Liu An. Puerh Community. 2007-12-11. URL. Accessed: 2008-02-11. (Archived by WebCite® here).
"Hobbes". 2001 Liuan. The Half-Dipper. 2007-06-17. URL. Accessed: 2008-02-11. (Archived by WebCite® here).
"Warden". Shuixian and Liu An. Tea Warden. 2007-03-11. URL. Accessed: 2008-02-11. (Archived by WebCite® here) - see latter half of post for liu an reference.
References
Most information in this article was sourced from:
Lee, Guang-Chung. 1995 Sun Yi Shuen Liu An Basket Tea. Hou De Asian Art. 2008-02-11. URL:http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:F2QQn5rrFH8J:www.houdeasianart.com/index.php%3Fmain_page%3Dproduct_info%26products_id%3D332+liu-an+hou-de&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us. Accessed: 2008-02-11.
