Luobuma Tea罗布麻茶

Classification and Origin

leaf of kendyr (luobuma), Apocynum venetum L.

dogbane (Apocynaceae).

floodplain-desert and solonchak lands of Xinjiang, the Lop Nor region (罗布泊, Luóbùpō), the Tarim River basin.

in trade, "luobuma" also refers to closely related forms — red kendyr (红麻, hóng má, Apocynum venetum proper) and white kendyr (白麻, bái má), which some sources assign to a separate genus Poacynum (Poacynum pictum / Apocynum pictum). Attribution at the genus level is not uniform in the literature, so it is correct to indicate both variants.

Type: herbal infusion, tea substitute (代用茶, dàiyòng chá).

Facts

the industrial value of kendyr for centuries was determined precisely by its bast fibre, while the "tea" use of the leaf is a relatively late development.

the flowers are actively visited by bees, and honey from luobuma thickets is a distinct local product.

salt tolerance makes luobuma useful in sand fixation and restoration of salinized lands.

a rare case where a beverage bears the name of a specific dried-up lake — Lop Nor.

History and Culture

the name refers to the Lop (罗布) region and Lake Lop Nor — the lands of the ancient kingdom of Loulan (楼兰, Lóulán) on the Great Silk Road.

kendyr has long been valued primarily as a bast-fibre plant — its stems yielded a strong fibre (野麻, yěmá, "wild hemp") for ropes, nets, and fabric.

Botany and Raw Material

perennial subshrub or tall herb, up to 1.5–3 m in height.

opposite or alternate, lanceolate, with a clear central vein, margin entire.

small, bell-shaped, pinkish-purple in the red form and paler in the white; the plant is a good honey plant.

like the entire dogbane family, the plant contains latex; only processed leaf is used for the infusion.

young and medium-aged leaf, harvested predominantly during the budding and flowering phase (summer).

Terroir

river floodplains, channel banks, margins of solonchaks and deserts.

the Tarim River basin (塔里木河, Tǎlǐmù Hé) and the Konqi (Peacock) River (孔雀河, Kǒngquè Hé), the lakeside lands of Lop Nor.

also found in Gansu, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, the Yellow River delta, and on coastal saline lands.

Production

manual or mechanized leaf collection during the warm season.

bringing to stable moisture content.

Organoleptic Profile

from greenish-grey to dark brown depending on the type of processing; fragments of lanceolate shape, often with curled edges.

from pale yellow and greenish to amber in fermented variants.

herbaceous-hay, sometimes with a light floral note.

mild, with an unobtrusive sweetness and very slight astringency, without sharp bitterness.

clean, short, refreshing.

Chemical Composition

hyperoside (金丝桃苷, jīnsītáo gān), isoquercitrin, quercetin, rutin, kaempferol.

including chlorogenic acid and gallic acid.

potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron.

absent.

Health Notes

a food beverage, not a medicine.

Brewing

approximately 3–5 g of leaf per 200–250 ml of water.

hot, around 90–100 °C — the leaf is not finicky and tolerates boiling water.

the first steep is longer than for tea — about 2–4 minutes; thereafter to taste.

withstands 2–4 steepings with a gradual increase in steeping time.

light boiling of the leaf is acceptable for a more saturated infusion.

appropriate — the infusion is cooled or prepared by cold steeping, which suits the "desert" origin of the raw material well and quenches thirst in hot weather.

Teaware: glass teapot or gaiwan, porcelain; glass is convenient for observing the infusion colour.

Storage

Container: tightly sealed opaque packaging or a tin canister.

Shelf Life: refer to the manufacturer's date; "green" types are best drunk fresh, fermented types store more evenly.

a dry, cool place without direct light.

moisture, extraneous odours, heat — the leaf is hygroscopic.

Price and Authenticity

around 90 ¥/kg for ordinary raw material; select Xinjiang leaf is noticeably more expensive, low-grade blends are cheaper.

relatively whole lanceolate leaf with a distinct vein, a clean herbaceous-hay smell, a minimum of dust, stems, and foreign inclusions.