What HeiCha are you drinking

Puerh and other heicha
TheEssenceofTea
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Wed Mar 21, 2018 6:28 pm

Just to avoid confusion for newcomers.... Kang Zhuan isn't Liu Bao. This post appears to be mislabeled
Teachronicles wrote:
Mon Mar 19, 2018 2:08 am
First heicha, and oh boy it's good. Bonus sunset pictures.

Teachronicles
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Wed Mar 21, 2018 6:47 pm

TheEssenceofTea wrote:
Wed Mar 21, 2018 6:28 pm
Just to avoid confusion for newcomers.... Kang Zhuan isn't Liu Bao. This post appears to be mislabeled
Teachronicles wrote:
Mon Mar 19, 2018 2:08 am
First heicha, and oh boy it's good. Bonus sunset pictures.

Sorry, your right. Thanks for the clarification.
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debunix
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Fri Mar 23, 2018 10:32 am

Other than a sample that I don't really remember from a long time ago, now working on my first Hei Cha: 2002 Aged Wild Liu Bao Tea "803" from Guangxi via Yunnan Sourcing. It is very earthy, a little sweet, and does seem quite like an aged puerh. The liquor is dark amber, very nice.
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debunix
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Sat Mar 24, 2018 7:33 pm

More of the same Liu Bao today, and photos this time of the earthy earthy loamy mushroomy sweet earthy stuff

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It does taste quite aged and ultra mellow; and goes on for lots of infusions
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Brent D
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Sun Mar 25, 2018 8:53 pm

debunix wrote:
Sat Mar 24, 2018 7:33 pm
More of the same Liu Bao today, and photos this time of the earthy earthy loamy mushroomy sweet earthy stuff

Image

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It does taste quite aged and ultra mellow; and goes on for lots of infusions
Been thinking of grabbing one of these. My only run in with liu bao was from global tea hit a few months ago, some 90s material. I absolutely fell in love with it
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debunix
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Tue Apr 03, 2018 10:26 pm

While enjoying the Liu Bao today, I realized what it is most like, and how that makes sense: it is fermented tea, with leaves and plenty of stems/twigs too, that tastes like rich forest floor with a little bit of sweetness. Thinking here of a damp old forest, where the floor is covered with what? Leaves, and twigs, gradually being broken down by fungi.....in other words, fermenting leaves. That's why it's so like mellow essence of forest, because really, it IS.
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Bok
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Sat May 12, 2018 7:15 pm

debunix wrote:
Tue Apr 03, 2018 10:26 pm
While enjoying the Liu Bao today, I realized what it is most like, and how that makes sense: it is fermented tea, with leaves and plenty of stems/twigs too, that tastes like rich forest floor with a little bit of sweetness. Thinking here of a damp old forest, where the floor is covered with what? Leaves, and twigs, gradually being broken down by fungi.....in other words, fermenting leaves. That's why it's so like mellow essence of forest, because really, it IS.
Just having my first Liu Bao ever, a EoT 3 leaf LB, kindly given as a sample with my first order with them. Your description fits perfectly for that tea as well!

Other than that, being only an occasional fermented tea drinker, to me I can not see a difference to a fermented Puerh? If It wasn’t written on the bag I would think it was some sort of Puerh. No clear distinction in my eyes, except that it seems “cleaner” less dusty that Puerh. Sweeter maybe as well. Other than that pretty much in the same category. Not as powerful and long lasting.
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tealifehk
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Sat May 19, 2018 6:24 am

Bok wrote:
Sat May 12, 2018 7:15 pm
debunix wrote:
Tue Apr 03, 2018 10:26 pm
While enjoying the Liu Bao today, I realized what it is most like, and how that makes sense: it is fermented tea, with leaves and plenty of stems/twigs too, that tastes like rich forest floor with a little bit of sweetness. Thinking here of a damp old forest, where the floor is covered with what? Leaves, and twigs, gradually being broken down by fungi.....in other words, fermenting leaves. That's why it's so like mellow essence of forest, because really, it IS.
Just having my first Liu Bao ever, a EoT 3 leaf LB, kindly given as a sample with my first order with them. Your description fits perfectly for that tea as well!

Other than that, being only an occasional fermented tea drinker, to me I can not see a difference to a fermented Puerh? If It wasn’t written on the bag I would think it was some sort of Puerh. No clear distinction in my eyes, except that it seems “cleaner” less dusty that Puerh. Sweeter maybe as well. Other than that pretty much in the same category. Not as powerful and long lasting.
There is a clear difference, but perhaps only apparent to seasoned hei cha and pu erh drinkers: the flavor profiles are similar because of the fermentation, but also very different. :D
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Stephen
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Fri Nov 16, 2018 9:37 pm

Recently brewed up a blend of a 1994 Liu An and 1998 Liu An. I only had a bit left of the 1998 sample so I did a 50/50 blend. It was excellent. Had the vibrancy of the 1998 and the smoothness of the 1994. Almost better than both individually.
Last edited by Stephen on Wed Jun 17, 2020 1:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
gatmcm
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Sat Dec 29, 2018 1:42 pm

Having some 2012 cnnp fuzhuan I got from an ebay vendor I saw mentioned in a teachat discussion from 2 years ago, tea8hk
Was still up at around the same price :D
Very interesting flavour, sorta like those melon shaped bubble gums, which is odd since its been years since I had one of those.
Seems to have been well stored because it brews smooth with no off flavours.
Pulled the trigger and ordered a full 1Kg brick :shock:
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wave_code
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Mon Dec 31, 2018 7:30 am

after being out of town and unable to do anything other than bowl brewing for a while it is nice to be getting back to some liu bao...

Three Cranes 3406 yesterday, and today China Tea T1101 black metal tin. The 3406 for sure has a lighter fermentation style and bigger broken up leaves than their cakes seem to. Not bad, but younger than the China Tea, so maybe it still needs a few years to get where it is going? 3406 has a lighter color and feel with more of a mineral flavor while the China Tea brews up darker (although it gives up a bit quicker) and is more earthy.
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wave_code
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Sat Jan 05, 2019 4:13 am

yesterday's tea was a sample of some late 90s Liu Bao which was labelled as "spontaneously fermented". Was certainly a much more home style production than something like a factory make- much bigger leaves, a lot more longer chunks of twig, not nearly as broken up and very dry/brittle. Lots of mineral flavor, forest floor, mushroom, no real sweetness. Was looking very dark by the third brew and wasn't as easy on the stomach as some others. I'll be curious to try it again under different conditions to see how it fares. Gonna give the leftovers a boil this afternoon - I figure a more rustic production tea is maybe better suited for some more rustic brewing than dainty short steeps.

windy/snowy weather this morning but wanting something a little sweet bamboo wrapped Tian Jian seemed in order. Also very dry leaves that take a few long rinses to open up, but really nice after that and hold their own for quite a while. Slight roast flavor, lots of date/raisin and burnt sugar flavors, and pretty strong on the caffeine to get me going.
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debunix
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Wed Jan 09, 2019 8:49 pm

2002 Aged Wild Liu Bao today--the only HeiCha I have aside from a tiny sample I have yet to open. Today's difference is that I'm enjoying a batch from a large thermos, hit with boiling water in the morning, and lovely sweet and mellow over forest floor earthy humus in this early evening. Mmmm!
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wave_code
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Tue Feb 12, 2019 11:52 am

lots of liu bao lately with more to come...

today is Wuzou China Tea's Yuan Ye Da Ye, still in progress of drinking this but really enjoying it. supposedly older plan leaves aged in a wooden warehouse bigger leaf chunks and twigs knotted up and less broken than some lower grades, lighter looking fermentation. brews up much lighter in color than the usual liu bao motor oil black, but so far has more longevity to it than your typical 3 dark brews before turning into nothingness. it has a sort of sheng thing going on to it but still with the liu bao forest floor charm - the broth is more of an amber/orange and there is a distinct incense and smokey note and a pleasant light astringency in the early brews. Later brews the smoke is still there with more pepper and sweetness coming through. getting quite a few brews and will probably save the leaves for boiling. really enjoying this and will be stocking up on it since it is still quite young and I am wondering where the tea will go.

yesterday was 2009 Duoteli 3rd grade. Actually my first time trying a Duoteli, different from the Three Cranes and China Tea flavor, and now I am curious to try the classic yellow and landscape boxes. Still need more time with this one, but the main thing that hit me was how smooth the flavor and mouthfeel was.

also had a chance to try the Wuzhou jasmine liu bao and was pleasantly surprised. obviously not super high grade stuff source material wise, but didn't seem too bad either - very thin fine leaves, seems very tippy. it makes for an interesting flavor combination, and having something darker offset the jasmine makes it more palatable to me than your typical jasmine tea which can be like drinking perfume. the flavor also adds some stronger astringency to the first couple brews, but its really nice when it all mellows out after the first brew of two. I have the feeling these spend very little time in any sort of basket storage before getting sealed into little packets since its missing storage/basement flavors. not something I would drink constantly, but nice to have around for some variation.
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Sun Mar 03, 2019 5:24 am

I had two Heicha's today.

I had the 2015 Gao Jia Shan "Cha Duo Tang" Wild Harvested Hunan Fu Cha from Yunnan Sourcing this morning. It tasted like golden raisin bread when brewed with a Nixing Pot. It's such an easy drinking tea! :D

In the afternoon, I had the 2018 Malawi Leafy Ripe Dark Tea from Satemwa Estate that I bought from What-Cha. It's my first non-Asian heicha and damn, it surprised me. :shock:
It tasted like Graham crackers sprinkled with some cocoa powder and some wet wood in the background. I'll experiment with a Nixing pot and see if I can remove some of the earthy funk and highlight the Graham crackers.
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