2023 年 9 月茶俱乐部

I appreciated this tea quite a lot, it warmed me up as I wanted to be (picked a heicha on purpose) and the fact that it tasted like mushrooms was an unexpected bonus. I wish I could figure out what that sweet note is, and I would also like to try more infusions to find out how this tea develops.

Eyes - Dry Leaf: deep brown curled and twisted leaves Nose - Dry Leaf: strong, deep, betel nut and forest aroma with a mossy roundness Nose - Wet Leaf: deep woods, soil, and peat moss Eyes - Liquor: deep orange with a rust undertone, darkens to a deep brown with orange undertones in subsequent infusions Mouth - Texture: smooth and oily Mouth - Taste: classic, with a distinct betel nut character upfront and a soft jujube aroma and sweetness accompanied by a mossy roundness in the finish. Mouth - Finish: sweet and aromatic, with an almost floral note in the finish (jujube and vanilla?). Very fragrant for a Liu Bao. Nose - Empty Cup: Pennsylvania woods (moss and petrichor) Eyes - Wet Leaf: mulch brown whole leaves and stems Body - Sensation: slightly stoned, laidback sensation. Very pleasant and relaxed. I’m going to get sent to the looney bin for this, but I swear I taste vanilla. It came first as a floral note and then in subsequent infusions as a sweetness like strong vanilla flavoring in ice cream. Regardless, this had all the woody/earthy/mossy notes that I expect from a liu bao, with the characteristic jujube note of age and the betel nut note which is essential to the definition of this tea type’s flavor. Delicious, and an excellent standard to judge other examples of liu bao. Finally got my hei cha! Here’s the first review, on a classic tea type! 😁🍵

Very nice. I was afraid to try it, having a bad experience with a previous Liu Bao, but this was lovely. An interesting Liu Bao. So much better than the last one I had. Nice and earthy. Tastes a little like beets.

0 TDS distilled water with TeaCurious Original recipe to make 50 TDS water. Could probably go for more steeps, 5 was enough. This is a very hard tea to like. It's a very strong dirt forward taste with some odd bean flavor (but not with any of the sweetness that makes beans good). On a big inhale of the gaiwan lid I smell alcohol (like an alcohol cleaner). Even the mouth feel isn't pleasant. I'm sure this tea is for someone, but not me. It's not flavorless, so I'll give it 1.5. I'll try Autumn recipe water for the other session to see if I can draw out some better nut flavor. Rating Criteria: 0.5 - bad, flavorless, or worse very astringent, teabag 1.0 - mostly bad, flavorless, most teabag tea 1.5 - not good, but maybe something to like 2.0 - slightly disappointed, not my kind of tea, but still can appreciate it - probably the worst rating I would give a loose leaf tea (at least one that hasn't turned bad) 2.5 - mixed feelings, like it, but there is something off about it I don't like 3.0 - good, I like it but nothing stand out about it or a very good tea with one critique that holds me back - probably the highest I would give a teabag tea 3.5 - very good, a tea that I was very happy to have but content with what I had, wouldn't seek it out for additional purchase 4.0 - great, very happy with the experience, would seek out for purchase, but only occasionally 4.5 - a favorite, one I love and want very often 5.0 - life will be very sad without it, reserved only for my favorites (roasted Tie Guan Yin & Dancong Red), room for more hopefully Well, my first experience with HeiCha is not a great one. Hopefully I like the other offerings from this month more.

I can tell the tea isn't bad, but it is very much so not for me! My mom actually liked the steep she had. She's a fan of the flavor profile, whereas I don't eat any of the things it reminds me of! It also got increasingly earthy. It's not often that Christian and I stop doing tea so quickly, but this was just not doing it for us.

I really liked this tea, but I always enjoy dark, dirty, forest floor flavored teas! It was definitely not for Emily. I really liked this tea, but I always enjoy dark, dirty, forest floor flavored teas!

Eyes - Dry Leaf: small, dark brown, tightly curled leaves with bamboo leaves Nose - Dry Leaf: bamboo steamed rice and warm clay/earth, with a definite medicinal/spicy/floral sweetness Nose - Wet Leaf: floral wou dui? Very nice spicy character and pleasant companion of steamed bamboo Eyes - Liquor: soft golden liquor, with beautiful honeyed shine Mouth - Texture: medium-thick and oily Mouth - Taste: steamed bamboo and clay, with a gentle note of cocoa/cocoa butter and a soft floral/minty finish in the nose. Pleasantly spicy/medicinal. Mouth - Finish: soft and juicy, with high aromatics Nose - Empty Cup: bamboo and warm clay Eyes - Wet Leaf: dark reddish brown mulch colored leaves and stained bamboo leaf Body - Sensation: relaxed and slightly high Delicious, just the complex and lovely flavor I love from Liu An hei cha. Reminds me of dim sum and just has that extra something of a flavor that is so unique to this style of tea. Very floral and bright for a hei cha, and the bamboo adds a very nice flavor that brings some substance and depth to the tea. Third tea, this one is a flavorful classic, with a unique combination of depth and florality. I love Liu An 🍵

A lovely tea. I was worried I wouldn’t like it, but I loved this sweet and nutty tea. A lovely tea. Was not sure if I was going to like it at first because the dry leaves smelled quite medicinal, but it turned out to be a pleasant surprise! A very nutty and sweet tea, it gave me a great first impression of Liu An Basket Teas. I may have to be on the lookout for more of this type of tea.

I only tasted a Pu’erh tea once before, so a dark tea like this one is uncharted territory for me. I liked the later infusions of this tea, when it gets sweet and mellow. I didn’t appreciate at all the bitter aftertaste of the first infusions, and am wondering how to best revisit this tea in order to skip them.

0 TDS distilled water with TeaCurious Original recipe to make 50 TDS water. Very tasty! Lots of unique tasting and aroma notes. Still a lot more to discover with this tea. I will try my other water recipes to see what other flavors I can find. Rating Criteria: 0.5 - bad, flavorless, or worse very astringent, teabag 1.0 - mostly bad, flavorless, most teabag tea 1.5 - not good, but maybe something to like 2.0 - slightly disappointed, not my kind of tea, but still can appreciate it - probably the worst rating I would give a loose leaf tea (at least one that hasn't turned bad) 2.5 - mixed feelings, like it, but there is something off about it I don't like 3.0 - good, I like it but nothing stand out about it or a very good tea with one critique that holds me back - probably the highest I would give a teabag tea 3.5 - very good, a tea that I was very happy to have but content with what I had, wouldn't seek it out for additional purchase 4.0 - great, very happy with the experience, would seek out for purchase, but only occasionally 4.5 - a favorite, one I love and want very often 5.0 - life will be very sad without it, reserved only for my favorites (roasted Tie Guan Yin & Dancong Red), room for more hopefully Definitely my favorite of this month's teas by a large margin. Still lots to explore with this tea.

It's a very interesting tea to try. It's again not quite for me, but I can see how others would like it. That said, it was a good palate cleanser after the last tea. The aftertaste is also good, which bumped up the rating for me.

Eyes - Dry Leaf: compressed dark brown and rust leaves with lots of golden flowers Nose - Dry Leaf: earthy and rich with notes of molasses and starch (a very distinctive note of golden flowers) Nose - Wet Leaf: compost earthiness and savory herbs/spices Eyes - Liquor: warm golden amber Mouth - Texture: thick and oily Mouth - Taste: starchy sweetness and tanginess of golden flowers. Notes of earth and molasses with a hint of herbal character from the Fu Zhuan itself. Mouth - Finish: soft, sweet, and pleasant, with a dryness in the cheeks and salivating juiciness on the sides of the tongue. Nose - Empty Cup: molasses and earth Eyes - Wet Leaf: dark mulch Body - Sensation: relaxed and slightly heady/woozy Delicious Fu Zhuan, I’m so pleased with the abundance of golden flowers and the overall sweetness and longevity of this tea! Saving the best for last, this absolute treat! Fu Zhuan is on par with Liu Bao and Shou in terms of depth, but the presence of golden flowers sets Fu Cha apart in a way that the others can’t compete with. This selection from Vincent is no exception!

0 TDS distilled water with TeaCurious Original recipe to make 50 TDS water. Mild, subtle tea with some nice sweetness, citrus, licorice, and smokey notes. Nice mouth feel. Strong aromas of licorice, tobacco, smoke, and toasted marshmallow. Despite very strong aroma, the flavor was very subtle and muted, so holding back from higher than 3.5. But overall enjoyable. Rating Criteria: 0.5 - bad, flavorless, or worse very astringent, teabag 1.0 - mostly bad, flavorless, most teabag tea 1.5 - not good, but maybe something to like 2.0 - slightly disappointed, not my kind of tea, but still can appreciate it - probably the worst rating I would give a loose leaf tea (at least one that hasn't turned bad) 2.5 - mixed feelings, like it, but there is something off about it I don't like 3.0 - good, I like it but nothing stand out about it or a very good tea with one critique that holds me back - probably the highest I would give a teabag tea 3.5 - very good, a tea that I was very happy to have but content with what I had, wouldn't seek it out for additional purchase 4.0 - great, very happy with the experience, would seek out for purchase, but only occasionally 4.5 - a favorite, one I love and want very often 5.0 - life will be very sad without it, reserved only for my favorites (roasted Tie Guan Yin & Dancong Red), room for more hopefully Ok, second experience with HeiCha is much better. Overall this tea was a bit too subtle in flavor that I'm holding back on a higher score, but still an enjoyable tea.

Eyes - Dry Leaf: beautiful dark brown curled leaves with yellow streaks Nose - Dry Leaf: smoked sandalwood and glazed ham Nose - Wet Leaf: smoked honey baked ham and incense Eyes - Liquor: cloudy pale yellow liquor with a small presence of trichomes Mouth - Texture: full, rich, and oily Mouth - Taste: smoked ham leading to an incense finish. Incredible caramelized honeyed sweetness throughout. Mouth - Finish: super juicy and sweet in the mouth, with an incense aroma Nose - Empty Cup: warm sandalwood incense sweetness Eyes - Wet Leaf: gently oxidized, plump, green leaves and buds Body - Sensation: relaxed and happy, with a heating sensation Lovely Tian Jian, with all the smoked honey ham and incense notes I love in this type. No wonder it was an imperial tribute tea! The second of last month’s teas! One of my favorite types 😋

0 TDS distilled water with TeaCurious Original recipe to make 50 TDS water. A nice smokey tea that got me in the mood for the coming Autumn. Reminded me of a big bonfire. Also has a deep savory taste of smoked meats like beef jerky, sausage, and bacon. There is an odd rubber aroma that didn't translate to taste, so wasn't too off-putting. Nothing I would want all the time, but great for this time of year as we slip into cooler weather. Rating Criteria: 0.5 - bad, flavorless, or worse very astringent, teabag 1.0 - mostly bad, flavorless, most teabag tea 1.5 - not good, but maybe something to like 2.0 - slightly disappointed, not my kind of tea, but still can appreciate it - probably the worst rating I would give a loose leaf tea (at least one that hasn't turned bad) 2.5 - mixed feelings, like it, but there is something off about it I don't like 3.0 - good, I like it but nothing stand out about it or a very good tea with one critique that holds me back - probably the highest I would give a teabag tea 3.5 - very good, a tea that I was very happy to have but content with what I had, wouldn't seek it out for additional purchase 4.0 - great, very happy with the experience, would seek out for purchase, but only occasionally 4.5 - a favorite, one I love and want very often 5.0 - life will be very sad without it, reserved only for my favorites (roasted Tie Guan Yin & Dancong Red), room for more hopefully A nice smokey tea. Like Joe, I too smelled an odd rubber aroma. It wasn't too powerful though and not too much of a turn off. Overall enjoyed this one and getting my mind ready for Fall.

Very interesting. I was not expecting something so smoky. The dry leaves smell delightfully to me and it tastes pretty good. A very interesting flavor that I was not expecting. Very smoky. I quite enjoyed it.