In the last few months, I have been reading and learning more about Liu Bao tea. It’s far less popular than Puerh tea, which makes it more difficult to find in Europe. I know there are quite a few Chinese and even some American tea shops that sell Liu Bao, but it’s more difficult to find some in Europe.
I always look for European tea shops first to avoid extra taxes when importing from outside Europe. I know that it’s better sometimes to order straight from the source in China, but my past experiences have told me that you may also find some treasures closer to home, as long as you take your time to really look for it.
At first sight, it seemed really difficult to find European shops that sell good Liu Bao. After a while, I found several shops that sell this black gold. Once I found these shops, I did more research to see if the shops looked good and if they had a good reputation. Unfortunately, I wasn’t really convinced so my quest continued…
Don’t know where to buy tea online? I made a page on the website with over 200 online shops and I keep updating it regularly. You can check it over here.
Instagram to the Rescue
By accident, someone on Instagram (boychik2989) knew I was looking for Liu Bao and recommended Lao Tea Shop from the Czech Republic. I was really happy with this suggestion and saw they have a massive selection of Liu Bao. It might even be the biggest selection of any store (that I know of) in Europe!
Buying the Liu Bao
I browsed the catalogue and ordered around 11 samples to see and taste their teas. Initially, I thought that I had to buy Liu Bao from China to get the good stuff. Luckily, I checked online and used Instagram for more information and found what I was looking for.
This shows that you might be rewarded if you invest some extra time (and are lucky as well)! No extra import duties and super fast delivery.
The samples have arrived and I’m slowly brewing and tasting them. Cannot wait to write my thoughts about all of them! I have already found a true gem and I haven’t even tasted half of the samples…
