Bitterleaf Teas 2025 Liubao Heicha Tasting Set

Usually, I brew Liubao at a standard ratio of 5g/90ml. At this particular ratio, “Fountain of Youth” presents a particularly “classic” profile - it largely behaves how I expect. It has a degree of grain taste, an overall warm and dark profile, and a slight beaniness. The tea has a particularly thick texture, and is rather clean. When pushed, the tea can yield some pleasant, subdued bitterness, but it does not have a tendency for harshness. It is pleasant.

I am not particularly fond of aged teas which contain predominantly yellow leaves. They usually do not infuse with much strength, nor do they infuse many times. I am usually able to brew out such teas in just three steeps, and this one is no exception. However, just because I do not have a preference for it does not mean that it is necessarily a bad tea. It is clean, woody and sweet, with a bit of spice in the background.

Despite the name and description, I did not really get much minerality. The tea had an interesting cacao character, however, both as a distinct note, as a degree of lingering bitterness, and to some extent as an aromatic. This note was somewhat distinct from the chocolate note often found in Shou puerh, and quite distinct to that found in Hongcha. Alongside the cacao, the tea had a pleasant milk-like texture, which coated the mouth and lingered nicely. The tea had reasonable endurance for re-steeping.

The Double Shot was the most interesting of the set, being “double steam” processed and quite young, which lent it an entirely unique profile. It had a texture and structure incredibly reminscient of other, rawer heicha, such as Tianjian, and young “Rustic” Liubao. The profile was particularly bright and vibrant, with good thickness and roundness and an interesting herbality. It was every so slightly reminiscent of unpeated Scottish whisky in the early steeps. Despite having a visibly dark brew, the tea did not feel particularly ripe in profile, or even humid in storage.

“Honey I’m Home” and “Fountain of Youth” serve as good examples of aged teas, lower and higher grade respectively, generally meeting my expectation for how such teas should perform at a quite reasonable price point. “Rock With You” and “Double Shot” both serve as interesting detours in processing, but certainly warrant a lighter touch when brewing, owing to their comparative harshness to the other two in the set. All four teas are smooth and clean in profile, and are certainly pleasant drinking.