Good grief, another member of the tea family to be addicted to.... going to have to try this now.Drax wrote:Cool, sounds good. I will try the liu bao tomorrow night, then! Thanks (:
May 1st, '09, 21:03
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JAS-eTea Guy
Hi Jedi,Jedi wrote: Liu Bao / Liu An has a long history in Malaysia, having been brought by our tin-mining ancestors from China, to cure the body of dampness and to ward off evil spirits. Liu Bao would be brewed in large clay kettles and then poured into urns, kept warm on a low fire, to be drunk from a ladle hanging nearby. Over here, there isn't much to distinguish whether one calls the tea Liu Bao or Liu An, and I've never bothered to ask about the tea's provenance, knowing full well that most of what we're drinking these days comes from old stored stock. It's a much maligned 'utility' tea that is now making a renaissance as a 'fine tea' in the wake of the burst Pu Erh bubble. Most notably, back in October '08, an entire basket of 40 years old Liu Bao fetched the handsome sum of USD70,000.00, divided among four elderly gentlemen who pooled their resources to secure their retirement brews.
Can I assume you're also from Malaysia?
Yup! I read that in the newspapers too. Four gentlemen from Central Malaysia bought that basket of Liu Pau. The amount paid is still mind-boggling!
Cheers!
Hi all,Jedi wrote:Greetings!
I was fortunate to drink some 30 years plus liu bao yesterday at an esteemed teapot collector's home cum shop. While oggling a few nice pieces by Gu Zhing Zhou's pupils, I was treated to a powerful gong-fu style brewing of this venerable tea. It was shown in loose form, on a piece of white paper, which also served as a funnel to direct the tea into the appropriate pot.
The tea resembled loose Pu Erh from afar, with a good ratio of leaf to stem, promising a full bodied brew. As is the preference of the senior members of the tea drinking population here (a status I am far from attaining), almost half the teapot was filled with leaves. The resulting brews (no rinsing) were dark, ominous, with a light yellow/green halo around the liquid. Aromas were varied, starting with a light caramel laced with herbs to a deep oaky bordeaux style perfume. In the mouth, each cup was consistently strong, providing plenty of interest with absolutely no sign of astringency. The flavours were of a deep woody nature, without the earthiness of Pu-Erh. In terms of Qi, the tea alerted the senses and inspired circulation without overtly exciting one. It was a hot day, but the tea did not make one uncomfortable.
Yes. Indeed I can attest to Jedi's sentiments. I've personally been honoured to a brew of 1930s Liu An. That's almost 80 years! The present cost of this basket of Liu An is standing at RM12,000 or approx USD3,200!!
In terms of taste and aroma, it wasn't far off from the descriptions made by Jedi, just with an additional medicinal taste to it. What struck me most of the final few brews. Even after more than 10 infusions, there is still a very strong sweet aftertaste in the tea. Although the taste of the Liu An has greatly diminished, but the sweetness of the subsequent brews were simply breathtaking!
ehehe... just sharing my 2 cents here..
Cheers!
Yes, I live in KL and KK.oldmanteapot wrote: Hi Jedi,
Can I assume you're also from Malaysia?
Yup! I read that in the newspapers too. Four gentlemen from Central Malaysia bought that basket of Liu Pau. The amount paid is still mind-boggling!
Cheers!
It's a good and bad time for pu-erh collecting at the moment. Good in that quality tea is relatively easy to source, bad in that prices are inconsistent and most often times, very high!!
But we are lucky in that availability is good.
Just on the weekend I discovered a new shop (to me anyways) but that's for another thread....
Cheers,
LEE
[quote="oldmanteapot
Hi all,
Yes. Indeed I can attest to Jedi's sentiments. I've personally been honoured to a brew of 1930s Liu An. That's almost 80 years! The present cost of this basket of Liu An is standing at RM12,000 or approx USD3,200!!
In terms of taste and aroma, it wasn't far off from the descriptions made by Jedi, just with an additional medicinal taste to it. What struck me most of the final few brews. Even after more than 10 infusions, there is still a very strong sweet aftertaste in the tea. Although the taste of the Liu An has greatly diminished, but the sweetness of the subsequent brews were simply breathtaking!
ehehe... just sharing my 2 cents here..
Cheers![/quote]
Sounded very much like the 1930's I tasted. I joined the session at the 6th brew
but it was still fabulous including the medicinal taste. Was told it cost RM10,000 for
each 500 gm basket, guess price had gone up since. Noticed that a small piece
of the wrapper (the big leaf used to wrap the Liu An tea in the basket) was
included in the brew. Apparently that leaf had very good nutritional value
especially the real old ones, even better than the Liu An leaves.
Hi all,
Yes. Indeed I can attest to Jedi's sentiments. I've personally been honoured to a brew of 1930s Liu An. That's almost 80 years! The present cost of this basket of Liu An is standing at RM12,000 or approx USD3,200!!
In terms of taste and aroma, it wasn't far off from the descriptions made by Jedi, just with an additional medicinal taste to it. What struck me most of the final few brews. Even after more than 10 infusions, there is still a very strong sweet aftertaste in the tea. Although the taste of the Liu An has greatly diminished, but the sweetness of the subsequent brews were simply breathtaking!
ehehe... just sharing my 2 cents here..
Cheers![/quote]
Sounded very much like the 1930's I tasted. I joined the session at the 6th brew
but it was still fabulous including the medicinal taste. Was told it cost RM10,000 for
each 500 gm basket, guess price had gone up since. Noticed that a small piece
of the wrapper (the big leaf used to wrap the Liu An tea in the basket) was
included in the brew. Apparently that leaf had very good nutritional value
especially the real old ones, even better than the Liu An leaves.
Dear Jedi,Jedi wrote:Yes, I live in KL and KK.oldmanteapot wrote: Hi Jedi,
Can I assume you're also from Malaysia?
Yup! I read that in the newspapers too. Four gentlemen from Central Malaysia bought that basket of Liu Pau. The amount paid is still mind-boggling!
Cheers!
It's a good and bad time for pu-erh collecting at the moment. Good in that quality tea is relatively easy to source, bad in that prices are inconsistent and most often times, very high!!
But we are lucky in that availability is good.
Just on the weekend I discovered a new shop (to me anyways) but that's for another thread....
Cheers,
LEE
HHmmm.... looking forward to meeting you next week. As I also do frequent KL, we could also meet for a few cups of tea... ehehehe...
Cheers!
pgho,pgho wrote:In terms of taste and aroma, it wasn't far off from the descriptions made by Jedi, just with an additional medicinal taste to it. What struck me most of the final few brews. Even after more than 10 infusions, there is still a very strong sweet aftertaste in the tea. Although the taste of the Liu An has greatl
Sounded very much like the 1930's I tasted. I joined the session at the 6th brew
but it was still fabulous including the medicinal taste. Was told it cost RM10,000 for
each 500 gm basket, guess price had gone up since. Noticed that a small piece
of the wrapper (the big leaf used to wrap the Liu An tea in the basket) was
included in the brew. Apparently that leaf had very good nutritional value
especially the real old ones, even better than the Liu An leaves.
Welcome to Teachat!
Are you also from Penang??
Cheers!
Re:
Interesting to learn that this tea is so popular in Malaysia. It's in fact not very popular in China. I recently tried a few, and I've to say that quality differs significantly from type to type. I can understand why Malaysians love it. The weather is humid and this tea is similar to ripe pu erh which is indeed effective to reduce damp. Compared to a shou pu erh, I think Liu Bao taste slightly more 'herbal'. I'm recently looking for one that has 'jin hua' grown on it, to see if it tastes even better.
Jedi wrote: Liu Bao / Liu An has a long history in Malaysia, having been brought by our tin-mining ancestors from China, to cure the body of dampness and to ward off evil spirits. Liu Bao would be brewed in large clay kettles and then poured into urns, kept warm on a low fire, to be drunk from a ladle hanging nearby.
Re: Re:
A thread back from the dead....
I know nothing about this, but think it may have to do with the "betel nut" flavor one can get from Liu Bao. Liu An is similar. I like aged Liu An, wish I could find mountains of it for dirt cheap, as it is the red headed ("betel nut") step child of puerh.
I know nothing about this, but think it may have to do with the "betel nut" flavor one can get from Liu Bao. Liu An is similar. I like aged Liu An, wish I could find mountains of it for dirt cheap, as it is the red headed ("betel nut") step child of puerh.