This is another from a set of teas sent to me by that friend from the Iris Cafe Nimman in Chiang Mai (on Instagram here), which are mostly Thai teas, but not all that. Baozhong--pouchong in the older transliteration form--isn't one of the oolong types I've had much exposure to but the few versions I've tried have all been very pleasant. They tend to be light in style, sweet, maybe a bit vegetal, but with floral and other positive flavor range that sets them far apart from green teas. So like light Tie Guan Yin versions but completely different, I guess.
This tea version isn't listed on Wawee Tea's website, but it's made by them.
I don't think that type description is far off the mark but let's check a Teapedia page reference:
Baozhong (包種) is a lightly oxidized oolong tea with twisted shape, floral notes. Baozhong is mostly only light or entirely unroasted. It is produced mainly in Fujian, China, and in Taiwan.
Its name in Chinese, literally "the wrapped kind", refers to a practice of wrapping the leaves in paper during the drying process that has largely been discontinued due to advancement in tea processing. At its best, Baozhong gives off a floral and melon fragrance and has a rich, mild taste.
Usually around the end of March, begins picking of this famous Taiwan "spring tea" (春茶).
If I would've read this before making these notes I probably would've mentioned melon; so that kind of suggestion influence goes. It's not a shock that a Taiwanese tea type could've originated in China but in this case that's completely unfamiliar.
In Google searching a second reference a mainly Taiwanese vendor, Te Company in NYC, doesn't mention the connection back to Fujian, but they do say that "Typically, the Boazhong oolong in Taiwan uses either the Qingxin variety or the TRES no. 12 (milk oolong) to be the base of their production." Interesting. Of course the #12 cultivar is Jin Xuan.
Review
first infusion: a little light, but still very pleasant. Creaminess stands out most, that feel, and how it seems to tie over to sweet, light, and floral. There's even actual cream-like taste, not exactly like a milk-oolong effect, like a Jin Xuan version that tastes creamy, but towards that. There's a nice nutty range that compliments all the rest, rich, light, and sweet, maybe closest to macadamia nuts.
Since I did brew this for between 15 and 20 seconds it's not necessarily very light only due to short infusion time. Against my natural inclination I backed off proportion a bit, more in a normal range, so I'll need to keep using timing around that range to keep infusion strength up. I think this could stay on the subtle side related to bright and intense floral aromatics, but we'll see. For now all that depth and complexity lends it a nice balance. The sweet, light nature is really novel and pleasant. I suppose vegetal range at this stage is closest to very fresh sugar snap peas.
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intensity is great for these rounds; it's light because oxidation level is moderate |
second infusion: not transitioned much; everything in the first round description still applies in the same way. This tea is very appealing for reasons that might not describe well. There's an initial pop of brighter flavor, even though it's not as intense as the other parts of the experience, that creaminess combined with that one vegetal tone and more subdued floral range. The sensation of creaminess occurs on more than one level, so that's interesting and novel. Warmer tone range, the macadamia nut, gives it depth, so there's a lot to take in at the same time; it's complex. Sweetness level is really nice, and an extra finish / aftertaste aspect gives it even more complexity. All of that is really clean; there isn't a single hint of off flavor, dullness, muting from storage input, odd wood or mineral tone, etc. It's really nice.
third infusion: infusing this for slightly longer, out towards 30 seconds, may have changed the character as much as typical infusion transitions. Depth and warm tones stand out even more. It will be interesting trying a really light round next time to see which input led to what.
Creaminess and sweetness back off a bit, and although it's still quite pleasant that earlier balance was really catchy. Warm tone related to nuts shifts some; this resembles cashews as much as macadamia nuts at this point. A creamy effect didn't drop out, it just changed, with less cream flavor input, less bright in flavor character. Mouthfeel is still very pleasant, rich and light at the same time, and interesting mix. I've been drinking mostly sheng for quite awhile so it's odd, and also nice, to switch off that very intense bitterness, intense flavors, and strong feel structure range.
fourth infusion: I brewed this the shortest time of any infusion yet, down at 15 seconds or so, so the difference should be interesting. Brighter flavor range does stand out more again, the sweetness, non-distinct floral range, and even the sugar snap pea again, but it comes at a cost of the tea feeling thinner, with less creaminess and depth. Someone might prefer to drink every round prepared this way though, to maximize that light and sweet flavor range experience. In the middle would be fine for me, trying to maximize both ranges to the extent that's possible, drawing out this sweet range and also including more warm tones and depth, without brewing strong enough to overshadow the first part.
It's interesting that I drink this tea differently than sheng pu'er; I find myself slurping it to maximize that volatile range experience. Sheng often just smacks you in the mouth, so that there's not necessarily an instinct to maximize intensity. And I kind of like that; there are days when I'll drink a 10 year old Xiaguan tuocha--way too intense, not age-transitioned enough to be ready--because I want to experience that hit. This tea isn't subtle, like some wispy white version where you are struggling to pick up what's there, so it's more about maximizing the experience instead, wanting to experience what is apparent in as strong a form as possible. The gaiwan is a bit over 3/4 full, so there isn't much range to bump that by adding more tea, but looked at another way it's nearly 1/4 empty, so there still is.
That will do it for notes; this will shift just a little over another half a dozen infusions, but that's most of the story, and it's nicer to enjoy teas without writing half the time.
Conclusions
Just fantastic tea! It's a little simpler and less intense than all the sheng pu'er I've been drinking for a long time but the intensity was fine, and character very novel and pleasant. That flavor range and effect of creaminess were great, with nothing like a flaw entering in. Adjusting brewed intensity would let you shift experienced aspects a bit, even though you don't get that from round to round transition. It really did brew another half dozen very positive rounds, fading some, but quite pleasant through those, and nice enough to keep stretching after that.
I've never had a Thai tea version in this style. Thinking back one from Indonesia wasn't all that far off it, from Toba Wangi, even though I think I didn't get that clarified for the review being so long ago (7 years back; that was a bit early in my blogging for it to reflect a developed perspective, but at least I was already checking out interesting teas).
To an extent Thai teas can be unfairly pigeonholed as most often copying Taiwanese styles, beyond the newer sheng range, and hit and miss efforts at black teas, most typically not as successfully as the best Vietnamese versions. I think that's because "plantation teas" only need to be as good as they have happened to be in the past, with emphasis on stretching production volume instead of developing better and better versions. This is something else altogether, and in one sense these kinds of exceptions aren't so rare now, if you can keep turning them up. I've reviewed some amazing Thai teas over the last three years, and a more limited set in the three years before that, but some then too.
Would this version "hold its own" against above average Taiwanese range? I'm not the right person to weigh in on that; my exposure to that scope is way too limited. I would guess that it would be a problem to narrow down expectations in any fair or broadly meaningful way. I can pass on the opinion that it's quite good tea, novel and very pleasant, obviously high in quality level, and that will have to do.
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