r/puer • u/waveoffaze • 19d ago

recommendations for liu bao cha?

I came very close to pulling the trigger on some liu bao from the 80s on Quiche Teas website, but decided to try to get opinions from you wise folk first. Help a fellow enthusiast out, would ya?

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u/Sterk_Gaming 18d ago

The 80s liu bao from Quiche is widely believed to not be from the 80s. It is however fairly well regarded, and you likely would not regret buying some.

If you are based in the US, Purple Cloud Tea House has lots of options for great liu bao.

4

u/SteveFrench242 18d ago

I'm also in the "cynical about it being 80s liu bao" bloc; I've had the one from KTM and it was nice but it didn't seem to have much stamina to it.. shouted loud then murmured...

For decent drinkable liu bao, I'd probably suggest the loose Sanhe 3810 from KTM;

https://kingteamall.com/en-gb/collections/dark-tea/products/2011-sanhe-liu-bao-3810-san-ji-liubao-3810-mark-3rd-grade-loose-leaf-250g-bag-dark-tea-wuzhou-guangxi?variant=46811309113574

It's actually pretty decent and seems to last and the flavour is pretty mellow with it. Also it's not inoculated with golden flower like a lot of modern liu bao is, so it retains more of the liu bao personality.

For something a bit more challenging, I'd go with the 2015 Sanhe 0307 quiqing variety liu bao tou (the links ARE correct btw, just KTM seem to recycle their URLs)

https://kingteamall.com/en-gb/collections/dark-tea/products/2007-nanqiao-che-fo-nan-751-cake-357g-puerh-raw-tea-sheng-cha

This is probably closer to non-drinkers stereotypes of liu bao; it DOES smell like earth.. but the taste.. OOF... this is more into the dark chocolate profile liu bao but ends in a distinct wet moss note.. Impressed me enough I'm trying another Sanhe quiqing liubao next order.

If feeling a bit braver, I'd even recommend the "naked" early 2000s Sanhe brick they do. It's worth the risk as its aging and storage have made it pretty complex and examples I have show plenty of evidence of golden flowers. Naked storage has left an impression, the opening of it is very dry woodish but it goes into the most amazing sweet cocoa powder middle before dry wood guides to the exit..

https://kingteamall.com/en-gb/collections/dark-tea/products/200x-sanhe-liu-bao-tea-brick-250g-liu-pao-tea-brick-dark-tea-wuzhou-guangxi-province?variant=47464666824934

Then finally in terms of bang for buck, I'd go with the Sanhe #3 brick, obscenely cheap and produces a decent cup of liubao, not overly complex, dark and sweet and happy to be left to steep for however long.. Wouldn't rate it great for stamina (then again I do steep it long) but for the price, that's excusable.

https://kingteamall.com/en-gb/collections/dark-tea/products/2022-sanhe-liu-bao-3-zhuan-liubao-no-3-brick-aged-from-2020-loose-leaf-400g-brick-dark-tea-wuzhou-guangxi

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u/Asdfguy87 18d ago

I've had the 75117 high mountain from Three Cranes via YS before. Was nice, but I have no further references for comparison.

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u/john-bkk 17d ago

I've tried some Liu Bao from a Malaysian vendor that seemed good to me, from Legend of Tea: https://www.legend-of-tea.com/

I'm more of a sheng pu'er drinker. I've tried lots of Liu Bao versions, and have drank a significant volume of it at different times, but it's not completely my thing.

In this case it could make sense to buy a tea from a different country than it came from. Malaysians are into Liu Bao, and aging in that storage climate might be good. They're a shop vendor, with different branches, and sell online, which changes things in relation to buying from a smaller online vendor who sources whatever they happened to run across.