What HeiCha are you drinking

Puerh and other heicha
User avatar
wave_code
Posts: 575
Joined: Wed Nov 21, 2018 2:10 pm
Location: Germany

Mon Apr 17, 2023 7:45 am

@Balthazar agreed! I use my mid-size mun shou porcelain pot every morning making my thermos of tea for work, but also on a lot of other occasions too. My small one also still is my favorite pot for liu an. I feel like these thicker walled porcelain pots from the 80s(?) actually have pretty good heat retention. Great for when you want good tea but can't be bothered getting fussy about the gear.
User avatar
Balthazar
Posts: 706
Joined: Mon Apr 02, 2018 7:04 am
Location: Oslo, Norway

Mon Apr 17, 2023 1:43 pm

wave_code wrote:
Mon Apr 17, 2023 7:45 am
80s(?)
I believe so, yes. And ditto on the heat retention part.
Mobok
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Nov 19, 2022 3:06 am
Location: Bucharest,RO

Tue Apr 18, 2023 11:28 am

These last few days I've been trying out the Baishaxi Anhua Heicha tasting set from Teasenz. Out of the seven types of tea, the ones that stood out for me the most were the Fu Zhuan and Qian Liang (didn't know what spicy tea meant until now, the smell really took me by surprise :lol: ). I'm still trying to figure out the others. The Hua zhuan felt similar to the Qian Liang, the Tianjian and Gongjian also felt similar to each other and the Shengjian had some spyciness that also resembled the Qian Liang.
pepson
Posts: 83
Joined: Wed Jan 04, 2023 2:26 am
Location: Slovakia

Fri Apr 28, 2023 6:19 am

2010 Wuzhou TF Large leaves "05307" Liu Bao plus 0,5 grams of 2006 Guangxi Chong Shi Cha. I like to add that "worm shit" to Liu Bao. It adds fullness and spiceness.

I am sorry for my office barbarian style of tea ceremony :oops:
Attachments
IMG_20230428_130245.jpg
IMG_20230428_130245.jpg (221.42 KiB) Viewed 22193 times
User avatar
Baiyun
Posts: 167
Joined: Fri Dec 30, 2022 1:12 am
Location: Australia

Fri Jun 02, 2023 7:12 pm

Started the day with my exclusive Liu-Liu Bao.
llb.jpg
llb.jpg (180.34 KiB) Viewed 21954 times
I had six wildly different Liu Bao kicking around that I decided to blend together when they were each running low, now I've got this one mixed jar of leaf from several decades, origins, factories, and storage histories.
ll.jpg
ll.jpg (256.59 KiB) Viewed 21954 times
As luck has it, the Liu-Liu Bao works beautifully, it is friendly and balanced and remarkably energising! Just what I need for a day full of study ahead.
pepson
Posts: 83
Joined: Wed Jan 04, 2023 2:26 am
Location: Slovakia

Sat Jun 17, 2023 11:16 pm

Next session with "unintenionally" Fu Cha:
2012 Gao Jian Shan "Qian Liang Cha" Hunan
Amazing tea for amazing price ;)

Nixing teapot and Huaning pottery pitcher and cup.
Attachments
IMG_20230617_130859.jpg
IMG_20230617_130859.jpg (242.1 KiB) Viewed 21776 times
Bourder
Posts: 31
Joined: Mon Aug 01, 2022 12:22 pm
Location: Poland

Thu Aug 03, 2023 8:36 am

Some first impressions (LaoTeaShop order):

2016 (2014) Wuzhou Tea Factory 433033, Grade 3 Liu Bao - seems pretty simple, reminds me of shou puerh and 2000’s Dao Jian Zhong Chiang Mai Thai pu. Easy drinker, thick soup, leaves a nice taste in mouth.

2008 Zhong Cha Big Basket 812005 1st Grade Liu Bao - similar to the above, but more complex and durable. Energy goes to the forehead and arms, I'm feeling relaxed and wobbly. Some astringency in mouth, walnut in the throat, faint taste of red berries. Minerality reminding me of aged Baozhong (or is it my tap water?). Lots of twigs.

2006 (2004) Zhong Cha Big Basket Betel Nut Liu Bao - the most interesting of the three. It's very different from the above ones. Feels more like a heavily roasted, highly oxidized oolong. Strong chocolate aroma and taste, some dark fruits. Goes straight to the sinuses. Smell lingers inside.

Storage seems very clean, no mustiness.

But why are some of the examples in chunks like puerh, and some loose like maocha? Isn't all Liu Bao pressed?
polezaivsani
Posts: 191
Joined: Sun Oct 06, 2019 4:43 pm
Location: Kaliningrad, RU

Sat Aug 05, 2023 9:42 am

Bourder wrote:
Thu Aug 03, 2023 8:36 am
But why are some of the examples in chunks like puerh, and some loose like maocha? Isn't all Liu Bao pressed?
All factory liu bao I've drunk (not a huge lot, somewhat representative sample) where loose leafs, maybe with occasional stray chunks. Maybe it's due to liu bao isn't ever tightly packed, unlike puer cakes.
Bourder
Posts: 31
Joined: Mon Aug 01, 2022 12:22 pm
Location: Poland

Sat Aug 05, 2023 3:31 pm

@polezaivsani
I was under the impression that pressing tea helped to preserve its characteristics and prevented it from drying/airing out. Maybe that depends on the size of the packaging. Small boxes appear to contain looser tea than those big baskets.

Two more teas.

Wuzhou Zhong Cha 0106 Liu Bao - to be fair it tastes funky, like a broth of shiitake and katsuobushi. Brews very dark, the leaves are very fine, gong ting if you will. Tastes good brewed in a thermos. Warms up the chest.

2005 4 Gold Coins Liu Bao - apparently a classic. The scent of wet leaves is questionable. Like the steam of hot, unwashed, unpeeled potatoes. A little bit of mint, toothpaste. The same is present in the taste. Not the right choice in the morning. But it redeems itself in long, lower ratio brews, say 250ml water plus 5 grams of tea. The mouthfeel is excellent, very thick and round, grainy, like olive oil swished in mouth for a long time, drinking it feels like slurping a noodle and makes the same sound. At this point the taste doesn't matter.
User avatar
wave_code
Posts: 575
Joined: Wed Nov 21, 2018 2:10 pm
Location: Germany

Sun Aug 06, 2023 4:40 am

Bourder wrote:
Thu Aug 03, 2023 8:36 am
But why are some of the examples in chunks like puerh, and some loose like maocha? Isn't all Liu Bao pressed?
Some liu bao gets pressed in to forms like cakes or tuo, small local productions that are likely to never leave villages in Guangxi use unique small wood molds sometimes. The majority though get pressed into baskets which can vary in compression depending on the size and weight of the basket, process used, how wet the tea is etc. But it is going to be far far lighter than the compression of a pu cake. Usually when a big 40k or so basket gets opened up there will be layers to it where it gets denser and is in a thick chunk, then looser leaves that flake apart easier, then another dense thick chunk - this is from stuffing rounds of leaves and then compressing them. This is probably what is causing these chunks you are seeing. Also the longer a tea ages whether in a big basket or transferred to another vessel at some point if the longer it sits it will get a little compressed and start to stick together. So generally it is a good sign of aging or of more traditional processing methods than say having been produced and aged in a steel vat before being put in a little tin.

You can see an example of the basket compression on this really nice looking 50s basket from EoT's instagram-
Bourder
Posts: 31
Joined: Mon Aug 01, 2022 12:22 pm
Location: Poland

Sun Aug 06, 2023 7:08 am

@wave_code
Thanks for the info. The EoT basket looks like a wheel carved out of forest floor.
User avatar
wave_code
Posts: 575
Joined: Wed Nov 21, 2018 2:10 pm
Location: Germany

Sat Sep 02, 2023 9:37 am

Looking for others who may have samples the Malaysian 'Ma Bao' liu bao for some opinions...

I'm revisiting this tea today after some time and quite some disappointment. After reading about it, and having actually quite good experience with other teas from Cha Zhi Ji I decided to jump in and get some. My first experience was a let down but I thought maybe it needed longer to rest - some teas I find can sit dormant a lot longer than others before suddenly jumping back to life after shipping. Now it has had a good 6 months, so two seasons, to settle in, and the tea seems no better for it. The color is nice, gets plenty of variation, gets darker, has good longevity on that front... there is definitely some cha qi... but there is very muted to almost no aroma, and the flavor is super flat and one dimensional. Having tried a couple different pots and water now, also with the added rest time, and still the same thing. In the bag itself and the dry leaf in a warmed pot has also almost no aroma. There is some very buried slight smokiness and leather, but also none of the betel nut and plummy character I associate with Malaysian stored LB despite spending its whole life there. It tastes almost as if the tea was aged, everything was all good, but then someone left it out in a dry room exposed to sun for an extended time and the tea just lots all its mojo. Anyone else tried this and had a similar experience? I'm curious if this is just a total hype tea, if my palette is somehow way off here, or if I'm just totally not swayed by this one for some reason. Maybe the tea is just in a weird place in its development, but I find I know a couple different avenues for this tea are available- mine came via Chanting Pines. I have really enjoyed and want to get my hands on some more of some certain Cha Zhi Ji teas, but this experience makes me reluctant to dive in to some of their other more pricey/aged offerings.

Started the morning with some 90s San He of much lower and rougher grade that was significantly more satisfying with nice betel nut notes. Lucky me I have a lot more of that tea on hand for the future.
User avatar
LeoFox
Posts: 1777
Joined: Tue Sep 01, 2020 4:01 pm
Location: Washington DC

Fri Sep 08, 2023 7:36 am

LeoFox wrote:
Sat Nov 12, 2022 7:18 pm
So I tried yee on tea again :lol:




Previous post about the shou:
viewtopic.php?p=45075#p45075
Feeling brave - I decided to try this yee on 2001 LB again after a year of airing out in my super dry storage


The smell has definitely gone down- but upon a tiny first sip after 2 rinses....... it was clear that airing out hasn't changed anything too much - the sharp aroma of rancid grease and oily smoke is strong as ever, invading my nose and making me sneeze a few times - as well as that dirty mushroomy and pond scum impression... and surprisingly, something that reminds me vaguely of clothes washing detergent.

There is a buzzing feeling on the tongue while the tea is warm - as it cools down, that goes away - replaced by something more sharp
Attachments
20230908_080840.jpg
20230908_080840.jpg (165.72 KiB) Viewed 20690 times
20230908_081006.jpg
20230908_081006.jpg (135.71 KiB) Viewed 20690 times
The 2x rinse - I immediately washed this bowl with soap
The 2x rinse - I immediately washed this bowl with soap
20230908_081842.jpg (227.02 KiB) Viewed 20690 times
First infusion ..and last?
First infusion ..and last?
20230908_082300.jpg (100.3 KiB) Viewed 20690 times
Andrew S
Posts: 704
Joined: Sat Jan 30, 2021 8:53 pm
Location: Sydney, Australia

Mon Nov 27, 2023 5:07 pm

Trying some of the 1990s third grade WuZhou tea factory liubao from EoT in a little pot.

Quite nice - not as thick as the second grade, from memory, but it's got a nice bright, active mouthfeel, especially after the first few brews, and a nice long aftertaste. It's lasted a fair few brews already. Mildly relaxing; not mind-numbing (at least for me, today).

I'll try the second grade again after this - one of the advantages of little pots.

Andrew
Attachments
_MG_0781.jpg
_MG_0781.jpg (168.95 KiB) Viewed 5341 times
Andrew S
Posts: 704
Joined: Sat Jan 30, 2021 8:53 pm
Location: Sydney, Australia

Mon Nov 27, 2023 7:39 pm

Andrew S wrote:
Mon Nov 27, 2023 5:07 pm
Trying some of the 1990s third grade WuZhou tea factory liubao from EoT in a little pot.
And for the second grade - more emphasis on upfront flavour and richness, less emphasis on the aftertaste. Deeper, less elegant; warmer, less refreshing. Similarly relaxing. Both are nice teas for me, and a fun comparison.

I recall slightly preferring the second grade a while ago, and now slightly preferring the third grade. It probably depends more on how I feel at the time than the teas themselves.

Maybe I'll try a 50-50 blend at some point.

Andrew
Post Reply