What HeiCha are you drinking

Puerh and other heicha
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Balthazar
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Wed Apr 20, 2022 12:24 pm

The design is pretty much identical to the ones I use, so it should. Same "bite" size too, at 42mm .
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LeoFox
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Wed Apr 20, 2022 12:54 pm

Balthazar wrote:
Wed Apr 20, 2022 12:24 pm
The design is pretty much identical to the ones I use, so it should. Same "bite" size too, at 42mm .
👍
Andrew S
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Wed Apr 27, 2022 11:11 pm

Yee On's 1985 liu bao in a 'little' pot this morning, followed by EoT's 1980s VIVE liu bao in a massive pot for the afternoon.

The Yee On tea has a nice strong flavour, whereas the VIVE tea has a nice strong feeling.

They both suited today's dark and rainy weather, but I might have been less productive if I had switched the order of the two teas around...

Andrew
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DailyTX
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Thu Apr 28, 2022 5:42 pm

Andrew S wrote:
Wed Apr 27, 2022 11:11 pm
Yee On's 1985 liu bao in a 'little' pot this morning, followed by EoT's 1980s VIVE liu bao in a massive pot for the afternoon.

The Yee On tea has a nice strong flavour, whereas the VIVE tea has a nice strong feeling.

They both suited today's dark and rainy weather, but I might have been less productive if I had switched the order of the two teas around...

Andrew
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Nice photo! I love the persimmon pot hiding in the back ground.
Inspired by @Andrew S, drinking a 3 cranes 2005 Liu Bao brewing in a 300 ml zisha pot. Cheers!
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wave_code
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Fri Apr 29, 2022 5:03 am

Looking very relaxing and calm @Andrew S.

After a difficult couple days work and before heading out of town I also decided to treat myself to some of the '85 Yee On the other day after having it around and waiting for the right moment for some time now. I found it a really interesting tea I'm looking forward to getting to know better - as you had mentioned to me I can see how its a tea that could come out quite different depending on brewing.

I went for roughly 6g around 100ml. The leaf is obviously quite aged but despite clinging together in little chunks it was still quite fluffy and light compared to a lot of older Three Cranes or similar aged teas I've had, but it came apart very easily, so it doesn't seem like it was super highly compressed at any point. Started at around 15 seconds and intended to add 10 seconds or so each time but very quickly abandoned any strict track of time because clearly the tea is comfortable and relaxed and needs to be treated the same way - stop counting, focus on enjoying and the tea will take care of the rest. Started off quite cooling in the mouth before getting dark and warming. I haven't had a tea in a long while like this that seemed to shift so drastically in what I pick out of it from each infusion- one will give petrichor and earth, the next book and leather, the next dark wood, the next sweetness... toward the start there was also actually a bitterness to it, but on the back of the tongue, but in a pleasant and unique way. Nice and relaxing tea but also didn't put me in a total stupor. While the storage still seems good and quite clean I did feel like the whole session had a bit of some underlying chalky magnesium or antacid sort of dryness/grittiness that built up a bit. Not the deepest or most amazing liu bao I've had but a really nice one I look forward to trying more of. I think I will try it in zini next time and see how it goes.
Andrew S
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Sat Apr 30, 2022 8:50 pm

Yesterday's tea - 40s liu an.

Shared with a friend who does not drink tea, but who did appreciate the very powerful feeling that it gave.

It was also a good reminder to myself to stop trying to find the 'perfect' occasion to have such rare old teas, and just enjoy them when I can (and while I can).

Andrew
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LeoFox
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Sat Apr 30, 2022 9:18 pm

Andrew S wrote:
Sat Apr 30, 2022 8:50 pm
Yesterday's tea - 40s liu an.

Shared with a friend who does not drink tea, but who did appreciate the very powerful feeling that it gave.

It was also a good reminder to myself to stop trying to find the 'perfect' occasion to have such rare old teas, and just enjoy them when I can (and while I can).

Andrew
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Hahaha, sounds like sharing an old bottle of Romanée Conti with someone who doesn't drink wine. Very cool
Andrew S
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Sat Apr 30, 2022 9:44 pm

At least a pot of this is less damaging to the wallet than any bottle of DRC... And I think that a pot of this is easier to enjoy.

Anyone who thinks that 'cha qi' isn't real or just refers to a caffeine buzz should try to drink something like this one day.

As I've done in the past, I'll keep refilling this little pot with boiling water and see if this old tea can give me a week or two of something that tastes and feels better than water.

Andrew
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wave_code
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Tue Jun 07, 2022 2:56 pm

It has been a busy start to the summer having been away a lot, trying to squeeze in some nice teas before heading back out of town for another good stretch. So I decided to treat myself to some old tea today and went for the 80s special grade VIVE. First time getting to try this one and it always feels like a treat getting to try these teas and get some more insight into the history and processing. Probably didn't use quite enough leaf and will go higher next time, but still enjoyable.

Deep aged wood character, slightly oily, still just a touch of some lingering bitterness that comes through in later steeps, vanilla, heavy... all sums up in that nice aged/'chen' flavor that you can't really quite describe any other way. No storage notes in the way and theres some pine character hanging around but not particularly smokey. Being a very bud heavy tea it also doesn't last as long as others, though with a good 40ish years age it holds up decent. For my money overall though I do think I actually prefer the 90s if I had to pick between the two - bigger leaf, more stems, and while I haven't had it in a while I recall a bit more depth of flavor and longevity. But we'll see how this holds up in the future at higher leaf ratio. Very nice and relaxing tea though - I found it very warming and got a good sweat going. I could really feel this one moving out in to the extremities a lot, relaxing everything along the way. Having been quite stiff and sore after a lot of activity yesterday it hit the spot having an almost anti-inflamatory feeling that reminds one how these teas were/are used like medicine. Maybe this one is better suited for the colder seasons.
Andrew S
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Tue Jun 07, 2022 9:15 pm

@wave_code: I have not yet tried the 90s VIVE, but my experience of the 80s one has been similar to what you've described: relatively simple old flavour, doesn't last all that many brews, but with a potent calming feeling.

I think that I prioritise the feeling of old tea over its flavour much more than most people do, so I'm not really bothered by the simple flavour when the tea feels so nice. Others would probably find it to be too simple for the price.

Perhaps I'll pull a bit of it out to try later today, to see if I can find the bitter note that you describe.

This is also one of those teas that I far prefer in smaller pots (80mL to 160mL) over larger ones. It really seems to like Bok's old hong ni pot...

Andrew
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wave_code
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Wed Jun 08, 2022 2:23 am

@Andrew S I found the bitterness came out a bit once the brews started getting lighter. It was more of a savory dark chocolate bitterness than any kind of strong astringent note.

It certainly has a very nice feeling. I felt it is also a lot friendlier/gentler over some other teas in terms of relaxation - it doesn't cloud the head so much. And while it is very simple overall in flavor, its all melded together in such a nice cohesive way - you kind of have a hard time picking things out of it aside from it being really nice and smooth. That kind of aged character despite its simplicity is still something unique and very enjoyable - I feel like once you know it you know it, but you still can't describe it another way, and also it can't really be faked just by heavy storage. It probably helps with the tea being so relaxing too- it is simple and direct so there is no point in sitting there trying to pick apart all of these complex flavor notes or finding hints of this or that- just drink and enjoy. I also feel like I don't encounter that particular aged character it in all teas either just because they are older either though - seems it needs the right circumstances.

Next time I think I will follow your small pot route- I think smaller stronger rounds of this would be really enjoyable, and in hindsight now its not like those little buds need a lot of room to expand. I'd suggest getting your hands on some of the 90s batch though when you can too - its different but should still fit the bill of what I think you enjoy.
Cookie
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Fri Jul 08, 2022 10:36 am

2011 BXS from a Taobao shop. Super tasty, I really enjoy this consistent soft flavor with minerality on it. I've nearly cleared out all my samples of Anhua stuff. Just have some tian jian left. But have some Liubao from three bears coming in. It's all the ones with "aroma" in the titles. so excited to try some Guanaxi stuff next!
Cookie
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Sun Jul 10, 2022 9:57 am

Went to LPs to test a few teas with him and pack some samples. Tried the incense fragrance vs a 90s liuan blind. Really enjoyed the 90s liuan and not so much the Liubao. We will see how these 3 bears samples work out, Liubao may not be for me. I'm not a big shou guy either but wanted to give this stuff a try. The liuan had a nice almost caramel note and full mouth feel.
Cookie
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Tue Jul 12, 2022 7:47 am

2012 "Medicine Fragrance" shu liubao from three bears today. Did 6g of the tea and 1g of the tea seed shells in a 70ml pocket kyusu (ruyao).

My wife really likes making homemade playdough for our 4-year-old and this taste like that smells. Has a nice salinity, sort of a lightly cooked flour, but with a bitterness to it. I'm not a huge fan of the bitterness, but overall like this tea. Sturdy tea that is very easy to drink overall.
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LeoFox
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Tue Jul 12, 2022 8:13 am

Cookie wrote:
Tue Jul 12, 2022 7:47 am
2012 "Medicine Fragrance" shu liubao from three bears today. Did 6g of the tea and 1g of the tea seed shells in a 70ml pocket kyusu (ruyao).

My wife really likes making homemade playdough for our 4-year-old and this taste like that smells. Has a nice salinity, sort of a lightly cooked flour, but with a bitterness to it. I'm not a huge fan of the bitterness, but overall like this tea. Sturdy tea that is very easy to drink overall.

Am curious where you picked up your approach of brewing 1g/10 ml for liu bao. Did you start lighter and eventually ended up there or did someone tell you to brew it this way early in your journey? Personally, I can't do much more than 5g/100 ml heicha without being overwhelmed.
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