Taste of Liu Bau
I have bought a couple of Liu Baus recently and the ones I have tried, except a very expensive one all have an unusual flavor. I would describe the flavor as having a bamboo characteristic to it but I could be describing it improperly. It could also be described as a stale flavor. I am interested in opinions of those with more experience with Liu Bao. Is it due to the fact that Liu Bao is often stored in Bamboo? Is it due to improper storage? If it is the former it may dissipate. The Liu Bao that had this flavor much weaker was a 2013 tea and the stronger flavor was from a 2008 brick. I can be fairly sure of the storage conditions of the brick, it is from a very well respected Massachusetts tea store called Teatrekker.com. It should be noted that the most expensive tea, a Liu Bao from Fang's Gourmet Tea had none of this unpleasant flavor at all. What do Liu Bao experts think is the source of this somewhat undesirable flavor?
Re: Taste of Liu Bau
Liu Bao is Guangxi province's specialty.
Pretty similar to Puerh Shu in terms of taste and seemingly made of the small leaf variety (correctly me if I'm wrong). But most of my opinions are reflected on San He Pai's, haven't had many Liu Bao other than 3-Crane
Pretty similar to Puerh Shu in terms of taste and seemingly made of the small leaf variety (correctly me if I'm wrong). But most of my opinions are reflected on San He Pai's, haven't had many Liu Bao other than 3-Crane
May 14th, '14, 16:17
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Evan Draper
Re: Taste of Liu Bau
That's my impression. It's aged in the bamboo baskets. I know Liu An is sometimes prepared with a bit of the bamboo basket included, so I imagine there's a similar thing going on there.AllanK wrote:Is it due to the fact that Liu Bao is often stored in Bamboo?
Re: Taste of Liu Bau
I am actually hoping it is bamboo flavor, otherwise I have some tea that has been improperly aged.Evan Draper wrote:That's my impression. It's aged in the bamboo baskets. I know Liu An is sometimes prepared with a bit of the bamboo basket included, so I imagine there's a similar thing going on there.AllanK wrote:Is it due to the fact that Liu Bao is often stored in Bamboo?
May 15th, '14, 09:47
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Evan Draper
Re: Taste of Liu Bau
The test of proper aging is if you like itAllanK wrote:I am actually hoping it is bamboo flavor, otherwise I have some tea that has been improperly aged.
Re: Taste of Liu Bau
Yes, bamboo basket and just the nature of the tea. IMO this is what all aged liu bao tastes like.AllanK wrote:What do Liu Bao experts think is the source of this somewhat undesirable flavor?
If you don't like the taste it might not be for you! Alternatively there IS something wrong with your tea--impossible for me to tell without trying some!