I'm sipping some "3 Cranes" Liu Bao tea, enjoying it so much and thinking back to some of the bad new cooked/black/shu pu'er I've had. In general, I'd rather have Liu Bao than shu Pu'er.
Whaddya think?
Jun 29th, '07, 15:13
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Jun 29th, '07, 17:37
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Jun 29th, '07, 18:36
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Jun 29th, '07, 18:46
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That seems like an unfair comparison. Comparing shu you didn't like to liu bao you do. Or do you mean that all of the shu you have had recently has been poor?
Personally I have a good chunk of a tuo of liu bao from jingteashop, some poor quality loose shu and most of a beeng of the menghai golden needle shu. The Liu Bao would be the second choice behind the Menghai.
My friend likens drinking the jingteashop, which is the only one we've tried, Liu Bao to drinking a cup of mud but in a nice way. I think this is strangely accurate.
SS - Liu Bao, as far as I could recall, is black tea which has been aged. Then I read this:
We received some aged Liu Bao basket tea today, and very glad to share with you this interesting tea, which can be called the mother of cooked pu-erhs! Before the cooked pu-erh process was invented in Kumming in 70's, Hong Kong and Macao's tea merchants had already use the "Wuo Duei" method - similar to the cooked pu-erh process - to mellow the Liu Bao tea as early as 50's. This method was taught to tea processors from Kumming in the 70's, and started the cooked pu-erhs.
Puerh Teapot Magazine featured Cooked Pu-erhs in their No.17 issue. An article in that issue interviewed the owner Mr. Tseng Zhi-Hwei of Hwa Lian Tea Co. of Maocao. Mr. Tseng, as shown in the picture below, talked about the history of Liu Bao, Liu An teas and their impact on the birth of cooked pu-erhs.
Which confused me.
Personally I have a good chunk of a tuo of liu bao from jingteashop, some poor quality loose shu and most of a beeng of the menghai golden needle shu. The Liu Bao would be the second choice behind the Menghai.
My friend likens drinking the jingteashop, which is the only one we've tried, Liu Bao to drinking a cup of mud but in a nice way. I think this is strangely accurate.
SS - Liu Bao, as far as I could recall, is black tea which has been aged. Then I read this:
We received some aged Liu Bao basket tea today, and very glad to share with you this interesting tea, which can be called the mother of cooked pu-erhs! Before the cooked pu-erh process was invented in Kumming in 70's, Hong Kong and Macao's tea merchants had already use the "Wuo Duei" method - similar to the cooked pu-erh process - to mellow the Liu Bao tea as early as 50's. This method was taught to tea processors from Kumming in the 70's, and started the cooked pu-erhs.
Puerh Teapot Magazine featured Cooked Pu-erhs in their No.17 issue. An article in that issue interviewed the owner Mr. Tseng Zhi-Hwei of Hwa Lian Tea Co. of Maocao. Mr. Tseng, as shown in the picture below, talked about the history of Liu Bao, Liu An teas and their impact on the birth of cooked pu-erhs.
Which confused me.
Jul 1st, '07, 17:38
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Shupu
I like shu as Liu Bao generally is said not to be "ready" to drink for minimum of 20 years. I can't wait that long! 
Jul 2nd, '07, 14:03
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Liu An is originally from Anhui, not Guangxi. Guangxi and Guangdong produce a "Liu An" that's more like Liu Bao packed in a Liu An basket. In fact, asking for Liu An or Liu Bao at most stores will get you this stuff, which is artificially fermented (a la shu pu'er and liu bao) rather than fully aged (like Liu An).Salsero wrote:How does the hei cha liu an fit into this? As I understand it, it is also from Guangxi and has a similar profile.
Jul 2nd, '07, 14:05
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Re: Shupu
Like with shu pu, you can drink Liu Bao immediately. It doesn't develop much with age unless it's the variety packed 30-50kg to a basket, which is very rare. Even then, YMMV. At least from what I've tasted...hop_goblin wrote:I like shu as Liu Bao generally is said not to be "ready" to drink for minimum of 20 years. I can't wait that long!
Jul 2nd, '07, 14:11
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Re: Shupu
Really, It was my understanding that in order for it to be called Liu Bao it must be traditionally aged in the basket. Interesting.. Nice to knowbearsbearsbears wrote:Like with shu pu, you can drink Liu Bao immediately. It doesn't develop much with age unless it's the variety packed 30-50kg to a basket, which is very rare. Even then, YMMV. At least from what I've tasted...hop_goblin wrote:I like shu as Liu Bao generally is said not to be "ready" to drink for minimum of 20 years. I can't wait that long!
Jul 11th, '07, 20:22
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liu pao
I just spent a day and a half visiting the Maosheng Tea Co. in Wuzhou, Guangxi, and their tea gardens in Liu Pao. We drank countless cups of liupao, including samples of their two gold medal winners. Thankfully I came back to the US with about 10 kilos of a wide variety of their teas and can spend the next year immersing myself in this tea, which is new to me, but is way up on my list of favorites.
The new teas were quite drinkable, although there was a noticable improvement at five years.
I love pu ehr, but I think I prefer liupao. It's like a big red wine that finishes strong. 15 or 20 minutes later, you can still sense it on the pallet
The new teas were quite drinkable, although there was a noticable improvement at five years.
I love pu ehr, but I think I prefer liupao. It's like a big red wine that finishes strong. 15 or 20 minutes later, you can still sense it on the pallet
Oct 25th, '07, 03:30
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I got some liu bao from Hou De and really liked it. I can't say that I liked it more or less than shu, as I like it just about as much as a decent shu. I find it's a bit spicier than most shu, though, so I like to drink some now and again just for a slight change of pace.
Where did you get the "3 cranes" liu bao?
Where did you get the "3 cranes" liu bao?
Oct 25th, '07, 08:54
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I got mine from Jing who doesn't seem to have it in stock currently. That may be just as well since the date wasn't specified and the taste suggests it's too young.
Dragon Tea House has some in stock from various years. Andy has pointed out that the brick or beeng is easier to pry apart than the tuo cha.
Dragon Tea House has some in stock from various years. Andy has pointed out that the brick or beeng is easier to pry apart than the tuo cha.