A cake of Liu Bao tea from the oldest Thai HTC pu-erh factory.

This old factory has never put a production (pressing or fermenting) year stamp on its cakes. However, by my parallel tasting, the year 2003 declared by the seller is quite believable. This Lui Bao is clearly older than its brother from 2008.

The infusion is a bit lighter, the taste is softer, smoother.

This is a serious, collectible tea in all respects. I'm already tired of writing about honest material from old Thai trees, so straight to organoleptics.

The aroma is complex, classic: betel, chocolate, wood, earthiness. On the palate, earthy notes are intertwined with bitter chocolate, tree bark and camphor; although there is not much of the latter here. With a detailed, careful examination, you can catch pleasant melodies of dried cherries and dates.

The aftertaste is tannic, woody. It brings to mind the astringency of red tea, as the "old school" fermented the material not deep, for aging.

The tea is smooth on the throat, boldly holds multiple infusions, as our customers have already gotten used to it.

What is remarkable here is the tea effect. The tea is tenacious, powerful, caffeinated. You don’t need to take a lot of it for a session, it will be difficult to finish.

And I wouldn't put it second or third in a multi-tea program. It deserves a lot of space and full concentration - devote an entire tea session to it.

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