Indonesia Toba Wangi 'Baozhong' Oolong Tea

Tea type
Oolong Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Almond, Butter, Cream, Custard, Floral, Fruity, Grass, Honey, Mineral, Nutty, Orange Blossom, Orange Zest, Orchid, Pineapple, Roasted, Seaweed, Spinach, Stonefruit, Vanilla, Vegetal, Apple, Apricot, Brown Sugar, Fig, Pancake Syrup
Sold in
Not available
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Daylon R Thomas
Average preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 4 g 7 oz / 207 ml

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7 Tasting Notes View all

  • “Alright, here comes the final review of the day. I finished a sample pouch of this tea earlier in the month, probably around the end of the first week or the start of last week. I think I may have...” Read full tasting note
    90
  • “This was my first baked baozhong and I liked it lot. The light baking caramelizes the florals into rich baked fruit and honey. I get baked apple, fig, and occasionally a hint of apricot. The...” Read full tasting note
    86
  • “Loved this – has vegetal, floral, fruit that mix about in my head, each characteristic never overpowering the next. Just tastes & smells & feels totally right. The roast is so light and...” Read full tasting note
    97
  • “I’m rating this now, and it deserves a ninety…at minimum. I did not expect to like the tea nearly as much as I did, but it is a very well balanced oolong tea. The roast perfectly accents the...” Read full tasting note
    95

From What-Cha

A smooth and sweet tasting tea with a well defined floral finish with slight hints of nut, very reminiscent of a high quality Baozhong with a light roast.

Produced by Toba Wangi who have recently established two tea estates (one assamica and the other sinensis) in West Java.

Toba Wangi are run by Galung Atri who has introduced new ideas to the Indonesian tea industry having learnt from tea producers in Wuyi and Japan.

Tasting Notes:
- Light roast and floral aroma
- Smooth texture
- Sweet with a floral taste with subtle nut hints

Harvest: February 2017

Origin: Desa Cisujen, Takokak, Kabupaten Cianjur, Jawa Barat, Indonesia
Organic: Non-certified organic
Altitude: 1,100m

Variety: Sinensis
Cultivar: Si Ji Chun (Four Seasons)
Propagation: Seeds
Age: Planted 2011 onwards

Sourced: Direct from the farmer Galung Atri

Brewing Advice:
- Heat water to roughly 90°C/194°F
- Use 2 teaspoons per cup/small teapot
- Brew for 2-3 minutes

Packaging: Resealable ziplock bag

About What-Cha View company

Company description not available.

7 Tasting Notes

90
1048 tasting notes

Alright, here comes the final review of the day. I finished a sample pouch of this tea earlier in the month, probably around the end of the first week or the start of last week. I think I may have built this one up in my head a little too much prior to trying it because it was not what I expected it to be, and as a result, I was disappointed with it at first. I think I was expecting an oolong that would revival an authentic Taiwanese baozhong, but what I got was something that fell between a lightly roasted baozhong, and surprisingly enough, a dancong oolong. In the end, I came around on this tea, but I still doubt I would regularly reach for it over a Taiwanese baozhong or any higher end Guangdong oolong.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a brief rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 194 F water for 7 seconds. This infusion was followed by 14 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, and 5 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted aromas of cream, butter, custard, orchid, and orange blossom. After the rinse, I noted aromas of orange zest and pomegranate. The first infusion brought out a subtle nectarine scent. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of cream, butter, roasted almond, orchid, vanilla, and orange zest that were chased by hints of grass. The subsequent infusions introduced aromas of roasted almond, pineapple, grass, seaweed, vanilla, and lotus as well as a significantly stronger pomegranate aroma. Custard, pomegranate, and orange blossom notes came out in the mouth alongside stronger impressions of grass and subtle nectarine hints. New mineral, macadamia, watercress, spinach, seaweed, pineapple, honey, and lotus impressions emerged as well. By the end of the session, I was still picking up mineral, roasted almond, cream, and butter notes that were chased by hints of grass, orange zest, and pomegranate.

A fascinating and at times elusive Southeast Asian oolong, I ended up enjoying this tea quite a bit, finding it to be an excellent product. Again, it did not remind me all that much of a traditional Taiwanese baozhong, especially in terms of mouthfeel and the way its aroma and flavor components expressed themselves. In the latter two respects, it reminded me more of a dancong oolong, and this connection was only strengthened by the presence of pomegranate, nectarine, roasted almond, and pungent floral notes as I tend to frequently find those notes in such teas. Overall, however, this was a very enjoyable oolong. It made for a pleasant break from the more traditional teas I tend to regularly drink.

Flavors: Almond, Butter, Cream, Custard, Floral, Fruity, Grass, Honey, Mineral, Nutty, Orange Blossom, Orange Zest, Orchid, Pineapple, Roasted, Seaweed, Spinach, Stonefruit, Vanilla, Vegetal

Preparation
6 g 4 OZ / 118 ML
Daylon R Thomas

That was one of my favorites from What-Cha because it was so unique. I could have sworn you’ve written about it before.

eastkyteaguy

Daylon, I just checked through my notes, and I’m pretty certain this is the only time I have written about this tea. I have, however, noticed that Steepster sometimes eats reviews, so it certainly is a possibility that I wrote about it before, something like that happened, and then I forgot about it or never noticed in the first place.

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86
676 tasting notes

This was my first baked baozhong and I liked it lot. The light baking caramelizes the florals into rich baked fruit and honey. I get baked apple, fig, and occasionally a hint of apricot. The sweetness reminds me at times of pancake syrup and brown sugar. Some hints of almond appear in later steepings.

The baking level here is perfect. It doesn’t add any roast to the tea, rather it transforms the tea’s texture and sweetness. I preferred this tea grandpa style. Not much complexity, but it’s great for easy sipping.

Flavors: Apple, Apricot, Brown Sugar, Fig, Pancake Syrup

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 1 g 10 OZ / 295 ML
Rasseru

Yeah i really like this one

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97
338 tasting notes

Loved this – has vegetal, floral, fruit that mix about in my head, each characteristic never overpowering the next. Just tastes & smells & feels totally right.

The roast is so light and unnoticeable, but backs up the aromas perfectly with this dense nut thickness.

Delish – tastes ok when pushed a lot with sourer greens coming out

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95
1704 tasting notes

I’m rating this now, and it deserves a ninety…at minimum. I did not expect to like the tea nearly as much as I did, but it is a very well balanced oolong tea. The roast perfectly accents the natural green florals of the oolong the way a good roast is supposed to. Pistachio is the nut that the roast makes me think of, in fact. The grass taste still borders on lemongrass or orange peel even when cooled, the florals a little more in line with lillies and others that I’m not distinguishing in an otherwise fairly creamy texture. I was half tempted to get myself another two ounces of this, and if I could, I would trade a lot of the jade oolong I currently have for it. It’s also not bad at all in terms of price either. I’m going to miss it when I finish it off.

Fjellrev

Sounds like a winner to me.

Daylon R Thomas

It is for me. Although it’s a straight Baozhong, it is a great example of one.

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