Last night I drank a small samples from Liquid Proust which he labeled “2008 Ye Sheng Liu Bao.” I’m not sure where it came from, but it was pretty tasty. Much nicer than the other one or two Liu Bao I’ve had. The leaf had a slight basementy aroma but was not too offensive in that regard. After a rinse, I also smelled sweeter notes.
The flavor started with a little bit of dampness and a deep earthiness – a good dirt flavor. There was also a slightly vegetal quality to the finish. Almost like I was just eating shovels full of dirt from a vegetable garden after a rainstorm. The flavor shifted a little bit after two steeps, with less dampness and the vegetal finish becoming more yeasty or bready. Two further steeps later, the tea got nice and smooth with a good nasal earthy flavor and slightly spicy and vegetal notes. This continued on for another 6 or so steeps afterwards.
I think I should try to get a few more Liu Bao to try sometime. I’ve enjoyed other hei cha I’ve had, but this is the first time I’ve really had an enjoyable Liu Bao. I’m not sure how much I want to get into it though. Even if I buy more expensive and nicer hei cha, I just have a feeling like it’s not really going to compare to a lot of puerh. Perhaps it’s unfair to compare the two and I should just view hei cha as an interesting deviation from the norm rather than a type of tea that should be compared against puerh.
Rating: 77/100
3g/60mL, Boiled Water
