2014 Three Cranes 45007 Recipe Traditional Liu Bao Hei Cha of Guangxi

SIPDOWN

Decided to try my new gaiwan from Tangpin (thank you Mastress Alita). Based on tasting notes, I have tried this tea only once since I have received it from derk — thank you as well! And back then I tried it grandpa. Used 5 grams.

For photo of my new gaiwan (and my whole brewing set), see here: https://flic.kr/p/2k8TCH6 The tea towel beneath was a gift from them.

My new gaiwan should have 125 ml volume, which is higher than previous one. Morerover, it is bit better in design set to my tea cup, than brown one, don’t you think?

I made quick rinse, and wet leaves aroma was black currant (I am only one?), woody, bamboo, not much of nutty. Rinse is mellow and quite strong, but can’t pick up any notes now. Maybe hints of tobacco. A little sweetness.

20 seconds
It is quite strong brew, it kinda surprised me. Creamy though, I get the bay leaf, woody (but not strongly), thick. And enjoyable!

40 seconds
Another strong, thick, but creamy steep. More on woody note, bit tart, but honestly I don’t get any nutty flavours.

60 seconds
Gets bit on bitter side, but I don’t mind. Dry red wine note as well.

80 seconds
It is weak already, I think it doesn’t work well making many steeps. It’s not bad tea, but needs only few steeps. This steep tastes like a bit bland shu, woody, and that’s all.

I have to say, gaiwan came just in time, as I am almost without the empty tea bags which I have been using for loose leaf. And they aren’t available in a shop I was buying them for quite cheap :( I hope they will get restocked soon! I don’t want to place another order somewhere to have it delivered.

Raising a rate from 66 to 72

I only got 3 strong steeps out of this but what was there was so good. This isn’t going to be just anybody’s cup due to heicha being, well, fermented and the taste rather medicinal but it’s a woody, nutty and herbal medicinal as opposed to fruit.

Gone gaiwan. 6g, 100mL, 205F, 10s rinse followed by 7 steeps at 20/25/30/45s and 1/2/4m. I’ll try boiling the spent leaf and see what happens. Edit: oily, woody, nutty and tart

The dry leaf smelled of light fermentation, wood, smoke, meat and roasted bamboo. Warming and rinsing brought out additions of bay leaf, a strong savory note that reminded me of ginseng chicken soup and cigar shop. There was also that betel nut note mentioned in Yunnan Sourcing’s description. I’ve never had betel nut, only the leaf, but the taste seems like it might be similar.

The dark liquor was surprisingly thick and creamy-oily in those first several steeps. It seemed to slide over the center of my tongue and then curtain down the sides. It was also a tad numbing like Togo mentioned. Neat texture for sure. The aroma was quite savory with pleasant fermentation and betel nut? I could also taste the betel nut in the alkaline brew along with bay leaf, bamboo, some very slight fruity medicine, and tartness like red plum skin or a light dry red wine. There was a pleasant coffee-like taste/bitterness that added to the experience.

If there ever was a winter time black tea to have in the evening, this is it. I’ll probably purchase more of this since it’s so dang cheap at $6/100g. Thanks for the sample Togo, wherever you are!

Nice mix of different aromas, I can smell black pepper, bay leaves, nuts (especially in the dry leaves), overripe plums and cherries and red wine. Overall it’s quite a sweet smell though. Taste-wise, it’s more savoury and very nutty. Much more than most ripe pu-erh’s I have had. There is also some light coffee bitterness and medicinal note in the taste. The mouthfeel is creamy, effeverscent and a little bit numbing with a touch of dryness in the finish.

One can play around with the steeping times a lot for this one. I often like to push them long, which gives a less sweet and more coffee like character to the brew. I found this tea to be a great value, very suitable for daily drinking.