Egret 17 Premium Baozhong Oolong Tea

I love this tea that reminds me of a deep steamed sencha with an oolong tone. It is floral with grassy astringency and a sweet thickness reminding me of oolong. HuiGan / 回甘 is very quickly noticeable and lingers for a long time afterwards. I prefer to over-leaf, and use a lower temperature as if brewing green tea, in a gaiwan starting with very short infusions (unforgiving if over-brewed this method). Stretches out. This tea is a winner for me and worth experimenting with brewing methods. Read Less

I enjoyed this fresh baozhong in a gaiwan and used 6 grams. I like to experiment a little with temperatures and brewed this one at 180°. The potent complex floral vegetal wet leaf aroma stood out to me. I brewed it 5 rounds and tasted a medley of floral and grassy notes that played well together. All in all an interesting baozhong. I did another brew in zhuni clay with 7 grams and a little hotter water…I really loved it a lot.

This is a very green oolong from Taiwan Sourcing. I’m reviewing the Spring 2016 harvest. Dry leaves are loose, long twists.

1st infusion has a very familiar aroma like Bi Luo Chun or GABA tea, the savoury seaweed springtime vegetable smell, but with the added complexity of buttery and floral notes like a high-quality Tie Guan Yin (without any of 铁观音’s minerally or metallic tones). There was even a sticky scent of caramelized sugar in there too.

Thick mouthfeel and a wonderfully complex tea, but not my favourite to drink every day. It would probably taste pretty good cold-brewed so I’ll try that sometime.

Recommendation: Brew at 193˚F for 1:00. Tastes better lower than 195 / 200˚F.

Rating: 79