I really couldn't believe it when I first tried this tea.... I had had a few Liu'An before (even an aged one from 2000) and so many of them were incredibly lacklustre. Some even tasted like I would imagine, the flavour of going for a walk in autumn and collecting a few fallen dry maple leaves and tossing them into a gaiwan, would taste. Just sort of vaguely leafy, but without any enjoyable tea flavour. THIS TEA, HOWEVER, is completely and utterly removed from all of those. It is deep, rich, powerful, good and very clean wet storage, with a profile not dissimilar to one of the best LiuBao you've ever drunk, but with enough of a unique Liu'An character that you can certainly tell them apart. I've honestly never really had a tea quite like this one, and it fills a beautiful and well-enjoyed niche, and I honestly can't wait to buy some more. If you are a fan of any serious Hei Cha for your collection, I would genuinely consider this particular tea a must-buy. If you ever want to buy your first Liu'An.... buy this one. [Just be careful about getting disappointed with incomparable others later on....] {{It especially pairs well with Yixing Zisha pots—Lao Zini, regular Zini, and DuanNi or LüNi, as well as Nixing or even Jianshui clay; if you want a really hard-hitting session, throw in a few extra grams and brew up in a ZhuNi pot..... just indescribable}}
Thank you!
