My all time favorite kind of aged tea! Raw Liu Bao

 

The best time to drink it is right now. And I don’t mean that in a general sense, I’m speaking directly to myself so that I can remember this. Sunday morning, 6 AM and outside, of course. Liu Bao tea has always remind me of both the smell of warm cement during the first rain of the day, wet moss, and going back again to the cement theme, those aromatic walks home from elementary school with a light rain misting all that warm Californian earth, and fragrant sidewalk. But let me tell you what Yunnan Sourcing themselves say!

This is a raw (not wet piled) Liu Bao tea aged for more than 20 years already!  It's ultra clean tasting and steeps 10+ times while keep flavor.   It's not a graded Liu Bao, meaning it was picked with leaf and buds together and was never separated into different leaf grades.  This means you get the tea in the form that has the most depth and completeness with this tea!

Taste is strong but not overpowering, with notes of tropical hardwood, betel nut, osmanthus, and incense.  There is not even a little bit of mustiness at all!  There is very long lasting mouth feel with this tea and the cha qi strong!

If you are looking for a clean aged Liu Bao or just want to try an excellent 20+ years aged tea then this will surely be a worthwhile choice!

LOVE YUNNAN SOURCING US CUSTOMER SERVICE AND QUICK SHIPPING.

A GREAT Dong Ding Oolong from Eco-Cha

 I love this company! Presentation, quality of leaf and super fun to drink multiple infusions of.

Dong Ding Oolong is a medium oxidized, heavily roasted tea with a hearty, complex, and robust character.

The initial steeping brings forth a complex bouquet of roasted vegetables, pine, and a touch of smokiness. On the palate, you get roasted sweet corn, nutty/fruity notes, and a tangy, heady finish with just the right touch of astringency.

Eco-Cha's source of this tea is representative of a Dong Ding Oolong from the original source of this type of tea. It demonstrates the broad spectrum of character and flavors that can be captured by refined roasting techniques.

My favorite Shu Puerh

Clean & fresh - made from choice raw materials - with a comfortably ascending energetic profile. 

Usually what is the most noticeable about this tea, or at least the most talked about, is its energy. The frequency is high and crystalline. This is due in part to the old arbor raw material used in its crafting. The roots of the mature plants are more able to source the deep nurturing chi of the subterranean landscape. Combined with the organic growing practices, clean air and water, and the adept hands of a master, we have the resultant masterpiece.
 
Ingredients: tea
If stored properly, vintage teas can continue to age over time.

• This tea is still relatively young, and as such, has the slight edge that younger shous can have on the first couple of infusions. In this case, it is reminiscent of chicory or raw cacao. It then totally smooths into a graceful, well-structured, highly refined broth hitting on all points you want it to (and more). Dark and elegant - refined and smooth.

   

  WET LEAF:

  large meaty leaves with perfect uniform brown/black tone • aroma is elemental with floral and legume notes

   

  BROTH:

  very lively and bright liquor with gorgeous hues of cherry amber and copper • ripe, dense, and full-bodied

   

  ENERGY:   

  as stated earlier this tea's chi is most noticeable • if a “reset button” experience is what you need, give this cake a try • the energy is quickly ascending then branching in a fan-like radiation - a common energetic descriptor is “crystalline”

Floating Leaves Oriental Beauty

 I am being very careful with this particular special reserve tea from floating leaves as it is noted in the description that one will have better results with a lower temperature of this very special and delicate and feminine floral tea. As you can see from the pictures I might be taking that a little bit too far but I'm really experimenting with temperatures as low as 170 to 185f. I've noticed that I seem to almost 'burn' the delicate sense and taste away if I go above 185. All in all, I'm not 100% sure this tea has been totally worth the extra expense however there is one part of this tea that's just as exquisite as the very best OB's I've ever had, which is  after I warmed the pot, poured the water out and poured the dry tea in and let it sit and steam for a few minutes then stick my nose into the pot and breathe deeply. Completely and utterly exquisite and, I must say, priceless. 

Rock Milk Wuyi Oolong. Multiple steep times yield more and more! Amazing!

Verdant Tea Company. Spring of 2022 by the Li family. The only thing I like more than the various tastes of this tea is the way it smells after the leaves have been wet and on the top of my gaiwan. Sticking my nose deep into the empty vessel almost touching my nose to the still-hot leaves, I feel I can pick up dark cherries, chocolate and a hint of something floral. Stone fruit, warm mineral-y rocks is the taste, however, to my still infantile palate.  

A very fun immersive tea and terrific for waking the senses and one's curiosity first thing in the morning. Pairs great with a good understated butter cookie too!

From the verdanttea.com:

Rock Milk or Shi Ru is an uncommon varietal that the Li Family cultivates on their mist-shaded, mountain spring-fed biodiverse plot within the Wuyi Ecological Preserve. The naturally rocky elements of this tea come through even stronger as they take in the deep minerality of the volcanic rocky soil. As a rare offering, Mr. Li takes the time to bring out the rich mouthwatering lingering yun sensation of this tea through the hand firing at low heat for hours needed to bring out the very best. This varietal is an excellent chance to taste the terroir of the region

June in Kentucky. And so it begins.

 Early morning back-porch tea sessions will have to start even earlier than this one is, as the humidity begins to announce itself behind my neck.

But having a rare Oriental Beauty from Floating Leaves tea in my old Celadon vessel makes me want to sit out here all day.

The sounds and the company have to measure up to this particularly good tea so I have Deva Premal singing the Moola Mantra, Daisy Gerber, my parakeet and even my tortoise here with me!

Tea photo download from the long weekend!

 

Autumn Loashan Green

 

Shade-grown, hand-picked, cold-climate tea from the He Family picked in the cool autumn weather with notes of cashew, pastry, and arugula.

October 2022 ♦ Laoshan, Shandong

Crafted by the He Family

Pioneers and community leaders, the He Family is dedicated to making a name for their stunningly smooth, malty, rich teas cultivated in China’s coldest, northernmost growing region.

 

Grown using old-school organic farming techniques on the rocky foothills of Laoshan, protected by ocean mist and fed by sweet spring water.

This harvest is picked in the cool autumn air after resting the plant through summer. The result is crisp, fresh flavor with more savory green bean and cream that Laoshan for which Laoshan is famous. The He family's signature green tea is fed by mountain spring water, picked by hand, and cultivated sustainably using traditional chemical-free farming techniques including growing rows of soybean between rows of tea to restore nitrates to the soil. The extreme northern climate means cold winters and short growing seasons, but the He Family perseveres, protecting their tea in greenhouses over the winter. The result is a deeply sweet and delicate green tea unlike any other in the world.

'Rock' tea from Verdant tea.

• 
  
  
  
  
  DATE OF PICKINGSPRING 2021
• WUYISHAN ECOLOGICAL PRESERVEWuyishan, Fujian
• ELEVATION600
• ROU GUITea Varietal

Rou Gui is one of Wuyishan’s most famous and sought after varietals, and one of the Li Family’s most awarded teas. Rou Gui is known for so transparently showcasing the terroir, the unique microclimate, of specific subregions within the Wuyishan Ecological preserve. The Li Family took the audacious step this year of setting aside a portion of their widely-respected award-winning Rou Gui and trying an experimental new finish, allowing the tea to slowly sun-oxidize into a black tea instead of going through traditional oolong finishing. The result is a stunning but extremely-limited harvest of spice and mineral-driven Rou Gui black tea, bolstered by an intensely creamy backbone and a building oolong-like aftertaste. They’ve achieved the nuance and staying power of an oolong but with the honeyed allure of a black tea.

Revisiting the sweet, rainy pavement flavors of Liu Bao

It is time to try something totally new, and after discovering Camellia Sinensis Tea House the same day I learn about Liu Bao, I decide to take them up on a sweet and generous offer!

What I am told about Liu Bao teas helps me make the decision to try them next, and it is simply thus: It is a fermented loose black tea, and if I like Oolongs and am working on getting used to and opening up myself to Puerhs this is a natural progression of that interest.

That's good enough for me and so when asked to choose any three teas by one of the owners, Kevin, I choose three Liu Baos.

From the company's website I learn that Liu Boa are teas originating in Gaungxi and that this tea is said to illustrate the effect of time on the appearance of leaves and the flavor profile of the liquor. They tell me it is aged in bamboo baskets, and although it is post-fermented it cannot be called Puerh as that name is reserved for the teas that comes from Yunnan Province.The website describes the tea as you see below. I am off to try it for myself and will share my thoughts!

The lustrous black infusion contains warm mineral nuances of undergrowth and root vegetable (beet). Its silky smooth liquor is easily enjoyed offering subtle notes of pepper and dairy. The feeling of a forest walk in the autumn rain.

Four steeps in and I am not yet  ready to describe it, the leaves are waking up very slowly and only at the fifth steep am I beginning to taste  some subtle nuances coming through the earthy and soil-like taste just in the back of my throat.

Camphor? Eucalyptus?Menthol? Something that leaves my breath slightly cleaner than before the session began. There is a mild and steady earthiness, a taste of peat-moss, no bitterness and no stringency. It reminds me of a old trunk, cedar-lined that's been in an attic for a long time. Opening it up one feels the contents waiting to be unfurled, the dust shaken off, and for the ghosts to be allowed room to move their formless limbs. It tastes old and more than a wee bit haunting is what I am saying! An acquired taste undoubtedly and one I am not yet sure I will be given the gift of acquiring. Moving on to my next Liu Bao tomorrow, which will be quite a bit younger and perhaps a little more kind to my newbie senses which have a slight fear of decay and age. But that is about me, and turning fifty five years old, I recognize my 'own stuff'! Best in tea and teas yet to be...