2005 Wild Big Leaf Liu Bao

Wet Leaf Aroma

Earthy, savory, vegetable stew, potato, woody.

Tasting Notes

Taste runs on the thinner side for a Liu Bao, but there's a clean underlying sweetness carrying everything together. Slight bitterness and herbal notes sit in the background. Pushing the leaf amount up brings out more sweetness and earthiness.

In a Sentence

Soft opening, quiet calm.

What it feels like

Soft and opening from the first steep. Creates a quiet, centered calm in the body, encouraging deep breaths. Gentle and relaxing rather than activating. Comfortable to sit with; leaves a sense of relaxed focus.

Quick

Heicha ★★★★ The Essence of Tea FAV

Details

Entry Date

22.06.2026

Country

China

Storage

Malaysia

Tea Master

Wu Zhou Zhong Cha Tea Factory

Price EUR/50g

Link

essenceoftea.com

Rating (1-5)

Properties

Kōu Gǎn i Mouthfeel: texture, density, softness, or dryness.

Light and watery.

Huí Gān i Returning sweetness after bitterness, perceived after swallowing.

Slight drying, with sweetness returning underneath.

Journal

2026-06-22

This is the 2005 Wild Big Leaf Liu Bao from Essence of Tea, stored in Malaysia. EoT notes it carries a fair number of tender buds alongside the large leaves, which is a bit unusual for the type.

On the processing side, the vendor doesn't think it went through a traditional wodui pile fermentation. Their read is that it was more likely fried and steamed before going into a big basket for storage. The Malaysia storage shows, and in a good way. Clean, no off-notes, no musty edge.

The age shows in the cup too. Everything about this tea is soft - the liquor brews a nice amber, and even very long steeps don't overbrew it. No bitterness, no astringency at any point, just smooth and light all the way through. Mouthfeel is waterlike. The Liu Bao character is there, but not too loud - more on the light side.

Usually when drinking raw puerh I tend to use a rather low about of leaves in most cases, but with this Liu Bao I can almost fill up the pot and it won’t overbrew. Even with long steeps - smooth.