Just finished sipping down my sample of this tea today. After green tea, the spring harvest of baozhong is my most anticipated release of the season. I love the heady florals and delicate sweetness of this tea. However locating some was a bit challenging this year as its been short on supply. Fortunately I was able to snag a few different varieties from Mountain Stream Teas.
This Heritage Baozhong is supposed to be an old school style of Baozhong that’s described as tasting somewhere between a milky baozhong and floral white tea with a thick mouthfeel. Taiwan Tea Crafts which sells its own Heritage Baozhong notes that traditionally, Baozhong processed in this style is slightly more oxidized and has rounder, more complex flavor.
I found these descriptors to be generally accurate. This was a buttery, mineral-y tea with an interesting interplay between sweet floral aromas and soupy/brothy flavors. The tea liquor feels full and viscous in the mouth and leaves behind a flowery aftertaste that lingers for a while. I got notes of lemongrass, lilacs, and honeysuckle. Underlying all this is a milkiness imparted by its Jin Xuan cultivar.
This was a pretty robust baozhong compared to the more delicate ones I’m used to. It not only holds up well to hotter water but rather demands it. My usual 185-190 F brewing temperature for baozhong didn’t cut it here. And it didn’t do well cold brewed either. Best results came from following Mountain Stream Teas directions using just under boiling water.
Flavors: Broth, Flowers, Honeysuckle, Lemongrass, Nectar, Vegetal
