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“This was a confusing tea to drink. Overall, I liked it, but as a previous reviewer noticed, there’s no nuance. The adjectives are all generic: Butter, Vegetable, Stone, Sweet, Bright. It was like a...” Read full tasting note
“This baozhong isn’t the most nuanced but it makes for a good cup of tea. Its got a lot of sweetness and a thick, syrupy mouthfeel. The usual baozhong lilacs are there as well as violets,...” Read full tasting note
“Finished up the remaining 4g of my 10g pouch this afternoon. I didn’t follow exactly MST’s guidelines for gong fu. 4g to 100mL in a covered glass mason jar. The last time I brewed this, I...” Read full tasting note
Made by one of our favorite tea masters in Pinglin, this BaoZhong is deep, rich, sweet and full. Processed in the old style with all the perfections and imperfections intact, this is a connoisseur’s tea. Usually sold out a year in advance, we were able to sneak in and get some of this wonderful tea the week after it was produced. A staff favorite!
This tea is produced in very small amounts. It is one of the very few teas we have that are picked truly by hand, no blades or machine cutting.
Elevation: 300-500m
Status: Certified Organic
Cultivar: JinXuan, Oolong, QinXin
Season: Spring 2018
Oxidization: 10%
Method: Hand picked, processed on site, very small batch
Region: Pinglin, New Taipei City
Recommend Brewing Style:
Gong Fu Style: 3-5g per 100ml, ~90C water, 30, 45, 60 then add 5-10 seconds steeps in gaiwan. Lasts 4-5 steeps.
Western Style: 3g per 100ml, ~90c water for 2 minutes. Lasts 2-3 steeps.
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This was a confusing tea to drink. Overall, I liked it, but as a previous reviewer noticed, there’s no nuance. The adjectives are all generic: Butter, Vegetable, Stone, Sweet, Bright. It was like a drink with all the rough edges sanded off. The result was pleasant to drink, clearly good tea, but not something I’d ever go out of my way for.
I will say, if you like “buttery” teas, I’ve never tasted something that hit that note as hard. As always, might be your cup if not particularly mine.
Flavors: Asparagus, Butter, Mineral
This baozhong isn’t the most nuanced but it makes for a good cup of tea. Its got a lot of sweetness and a thick, syrupy mouthfeel. The usual baozhong lilacs are there as well as violets, gardenia, and a touch of melon. I steeped this 4 times in a gaiwan with steep times of 1m, 20s, 50s, and 2m.
I’ve switched back to gongfu’ing my baozhongs and I’m starting to enjoy them again. It’s richer and the flavors are clearer than grandpa steeping which is probably better suited for the more expensive competition grade teas.
Flavors: Floral, Sweet
Finished up the remaining 4g of my 10g pouch this afternoon. I didn’t follow exactly MST’s guidelines for gong fu. 4g to 100mL in a covered glass mason jar. The last time I brewed this, I experienced an almost distracting dryness at 190-195F which is the recommended temperature, so I kept all steeps today at 185F. That definitely helped. I did a flash rinse followed by 6 steeps at 30/45/60/70/80/90s.
Reaction: I think this tea shines when doing shorter steeps that allow for the crispness and distinct flavors to come out. Following MST’s steep times and using 185F water, the brew was very smooth and thick but after the first steep, it became thick with spinach which detracted from the fruity, floral, citrus, creamy and light vegetal qualities. If I were to buy this again, I would definitely stick to shorter steeps at 185F. I think it would be best that way. Plus I picked up ripe pineapple in one steep. Don’t come across that very often. I mentioned in the other log that this could be a good daily drinker (gong fu) and I still hold to that, but only for somebody with fat stacks.
