Bao Zhong Oolong Tea -- Organic

Six days have passed since my first visit to Tao Tea Leaf and I have thought of my visit each of the six days. If something was so memorable that you remembered it so fondly for so long you would likely try to recreate the moment, and today I attempted to do just that. I needed a gaiwan and rather than order something online I decided Tao Tea Leaf was just the place. I have my very first gaiwan now, I feel so grown up about tea! :)

Also, I blew through my small amount of Shui Xian Lao Cong so I had to buy more, along with this here tea. I added the info off Tao’s website, to the letter.

This tea smells floral, almost like jasmine, and the wet leaves smell of jasmine too. The liquor is a pale pale yellow, and tastes only slightly floral. I was a little worried at first, needlessly I now know. It is so creamy too.

The question I have is, I’m getting a slight bitterness as it sits and cools. Is it supposed to? Is it something I did? I guess these are somewhat rhetorical questions but if someone knows an answer, I’d love to know!

As for the visit, I brought my partner with me, we ordered a pot of tea also and sat there, in the tranquility of the shop and enjoyed it together. Met Tao himself who was so helpful, so hospitable. Too bad this store is so far away from where I live, and not “on the way” to anything I frequent. But then maybe my wallet likes that it is so.

A decent albeit quite light bodied Baozhong. The mouthfeel is super light, the liquid seems to almost vanish soon after it hits mouth. Once it cools down, it becomes a little bit more velvety. The smell seems fairly complex, but not so appealing to me personally. I noticed a strange mix of aromas, although not necessarily all at the same time – papaya, coconut milk, caramelized onion and citrus. The taste is floral in the first few infusions, with sweet and sour undertones. Interestingly, the aftertaste actually becomes quite savoury. The later steeps are much more grassy and citrusy overall. It’s a good tea once in a while, but not my favourite.

I’ve been aging this since April 2017, (not exactly aging ;) )
First steeps were amazingly buttery smooth and savory.
A bit thin in the tea soup aspect but enjoyable no off flavors or anything bitter or astringent.
Subsequent steeps are all relatively the same; a walnut or nutty taste hints at some kind of astringency or bitterness that is not there which impacts the huigan, showing up only after quite a few steeps and is not even that noticeable, hinting that you would require much more leaf then what I used.
The rest of the palate reminds me mostly of a veggie pilaf with a hot butter mouth feel it really is very smooth butter kind of tea, this is huge highlight for me and reminds me a little of gyokuro, butter savoriness and i expect there would be more of this flavor if i used much more leaf.

The first steep of this was amazing. Very vegetal, buttery, and mildly floral. I really don’t like florals at all and barely noticed it so that was fine by me!
The buttery part does lend itself to “popcorn” but I would never have picked out that descriptor without looking at the notes above. I consider Genmaicha to be closer, but in a different way of course. If you could combine the two, you’d definitely have a great snack alternative. And since popcorn IS my fave indulgence, well I’d be in heaven.
Also, first steep was rather drying. The second was less so, but then I found it to be more flowery, so not as tasty IMO. Even still, I really enjoyed it overall. Very tasty! Too bad I only had a sample. I may see if they have any next time I’m at the shop.

an amazing tea!

when i smell the leaves dry, i smell nothing.

when i smell the leaves wet, it has a unique smell…. rice krispies bars (you know the cereal?)

when i smell the brewed tea, i smell rice krispies bars and a hint of popcorn.

when i taste the brewed tea, i taste popcorn and floral.

i rate this tea a 100 because of its aromas and flavors.

many thanks to scribbles for this amazing tea!