Winter 2015 Competition Wenshan Bao Zhong, Lot 477

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Wenshan Bao Zhong Competition Tea is a sought after offering season after season, and this winter’s one will not disappoint! Buying Competition Tea in boxes or canisters sealed by the organizers of the competition is your assurance that you are getting authentic Bao Zhong tea that meets the quality standard in taste, production practices and growing standards. It is interesting to know that teas that do not meet the stringent Taiwanese Limit for pesticide residues will not be accepted into this particular competition. This is the only competition we know of that will systematically test all entries. This winter’s offering is again from Mr. Ong who maintains a constant high level of quality into all the teas he produces. If this is your first time trying out a Bao Zhong, you simply can’t go wrong with this Competition Tea! For those of you who are tempted but need to be convinced, we recommend that you purchase a 25 g sample before committing to one of the tins or box sealed by the competition organizers. What beautiful gifts these can make! You can also consider our house Baked Bao Zhong and Deep Baked Bao Zhong for a more biscuity experience.

STYLE OF TEA
Green Oolong Tea
PICKING DATE
November 2015
OXYDATION LEVEL
Very Low
TERROIR
Wenshan
ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
New Taipei City
PICKING STYLE
Hand Picked
CULTIVAR USED
Qing Xin
GARDEN ELEVATION
800 m

Bao Zhong Tea has a long tradition in the Wenshan mountains near Taipei. We can trace its introduction to a man called Cheng Xi Wong who came from Quanzhou, just across the straight, in the province of Fujian. He produced a tea fashioned around Wuyi style tea, hence the long, curled full leaf appearance of the tea. His tea was further distinguished by the way he packed his tea to sell it. He used 2 sheets of paper and folded them to pack 150g of tea in a nice square shape and stamped them with the merchant’s name or cargo company that would export it. This is how this tea got to be named Bao Zhong Tea, which means paper wrapped or enveloped tea. Still, the most famous Bao Zhong tea comes from the same Wenshan area just outside Taipei where tea has a longstanding, 200 year old tradition.

All of the Wenshan competition teas we’ve purchased up to now are all from Mr. Wong, a 3rd generation grower. This spring, Mr. Wong was awarded a 3rd place. The previous lots we proposed last Winter and in the Spring of 2013 were rated as finalists. The famous Wenshan Bao Zhong Competition is held twice a year, once in the spring and once after the Winter tea season. Tea competitions are held on a given day and decided by a panel of judges that rate every tea entered based on a set list of criteria determined by the organizers. Teas are awarded points and go through rounds of elimination. Only entries kept for the final round get to be labelled as finalist teas and packaged by the show organizers to be recognized as of outstanding quality. These teas command a higher price because of that. From that select group, a first second and third place finisher are determined. Wr. Wong got a well deserved 3rd place this spring. Congratulations!
The package designs are slightly different from one seasonal competition to another. This is very well controlled by the organizers to avoid counterfeit products. For traceability, each element of the packaging (box, tin, vacuum bag) bears a numbered seal that identify this tea with the grower and his competition ranking. This is why we choose to offer this tea only in the sealed formats. A 25 g sample is also proposed to get to taste the tea before committing to the official packages