Wen Shan Bao Zhong

I’m a sucker for a good oolong and Wen Shan Bao Zhong is a GOOD oolong. I never cease to be impressed with how delectable a pure, simple, high quality tea can be.

This Bao Zhong has an intoxicating floral aroma dry, but this oolong has a lightly vegetal and almost savory flavor at first sip. A distinctive osmanthus essence with delicate orchid notes quickly takes over, and the finish is slightly creamy. Very, very, very good!

I was able to get seven flavorful steeps out of the leaves just as Naivetea promised.

AND I used this adorable little dude to brew my lovely Wen Shan Bao Zhong:
http://www.teavana.com/tea-products/teapots-teapot-sets/artisan-teapots/yixing-teapots/p/tiny-mouse-yixing-teapot

This is not my first Wen Shan Bao Zhong, but it’s close to it. I had a pot of Harney’s at their tea room in Soho once, and I wanted to buy a couple of ounces of it, but alas they do not sell it by the ounce, only in a tin! Being told “no, we can’t sell you this tea in bulk even though we have it loose in bulk right here” discombobulated me so much that I didn’t even think to look at the tin, which is only 1.5oz anyway.

So my point is that I liked that one, but I haven’t tried any other since then. The dry leaf on this one smells lovely, with a nice floral oolongy aroma. Steeped, a much more buttery aroma shows up. The flavor is very pleasant; floral, vegetal, a bit buttery. There’s an ever so faint whisp of sweetness that shows up at the end of the sip. Really, a lovely cup.

Thank you so much for the sample Dinosara! I wanted to try this one first because I’ve had a Bao Zhong before but never a plain one. I have had a coconut flavored one that I LOVED. This one is wonderful too! Might be my favorite oolong I’ve tried so far :D I can’t wait to get to my next steep, heh. It is light and buttery and floral YUM.

A nice light offering from Naivetea. I now have 1 oz. of this bad boy which should keep me happy for a while. I have no idea what osmanthus smells/tastes like. There is a slight hint of floral here but not nauseating like a floral scented tea. To me it’s brothy and buttery. I also let it steep for 3 minutes or so, I like it a bit stronger and it does not seem to suffer at all with a longer steep time. Gentle and precious.

The first thing that I noticed is that the leaves are much larger than the small hand rolled balls of oolong teas that are popular.The dry leaves are a beautiful deep green color with hints of lighter green. The shape of the tea was twisted and long in length. The dry leaves smell a bit nutty and roasted,and the tea really smells like it has been toasted.

Check out my blog for a more in depth review…complete w/ a time lapse steep vid! Check it out :) http://bit.ly/bne2C2

This is really wonderful!!!!

A few things that come to mind right away while drinking this…

Subtle and relaxing…somewhat nutty, sweet, but fairly brothy…also sweet and floral but only a little bit! It has a nice buttery ending, too!

This is the tea that the earth got right. It said a tablespoon for 6 ounces and 2 minutes steep time. The tea is voluminous so when I put it in the pot I thought the tea might be very strong. I steeped at 1 minutes and 30 sec. and it was just perfect. It is a smooth and buttery tea with a sweet aftertaste. There are some hints of floral and shades of roasted
flavor. This makes for a gentle ride. I have been wanting to try this tea company and am glad that I did.

I am very happy I received it as a sample from Naivetea…this oolong tea is so incredibly light and delicious! It has flowery notes and a buttery smoothness to it. The tea is not bitter at all and leaves a great aftertaste.

I will be reaching for this tea when I have a sore throat! I was able to steep this 6 times.

This reminds me of a lovely combination of green tea and oolong tea: the best of both without any of the nasty side effects (i.e. I find green tea to be bitter). Not drying, which is nice, and the flavor gets more subtle (but still pleasant) with each successive brewing.

http://www.thatpourgirltea.com/2010/04/twelve-days-of-oolong-day-5.html

powdery astringency flowed beautifully with light broth and extended aftertaste

As others have noted, this is a decidedly more robust Bao Zhong than what I am used to. Sweet, but also vegetal. Substantial.