I was thrilled to be able to try this one. Thanks so much Octavia Tea! I LOVE Bao Zhong and if it’s called “Orchid Bao Zhong”, I’m especially intrigued — my favorite oolongs taste like flowers. The leaves are bigger, as Bao Zhong leaves usually are, but not the biggest I’ve seen from a Bao Zhong. The brew color is a light green. The flavor is lovely, but not something I’d call particularly ‘orchid’. It’s a milky flavor and creamy texture, which is surprising to me for a Bao Zhong. The aftertaste turns into subtle hints of lingering fruits like pineapple with the milk turning into coconut, which is more what I expect from this type of oolong. All four steeps seemed completely different in flavor – the last two being more buttery. I think the leaves could have kept going for many steeps. I also think I should try this with a flat teaspoon instead of a heaping teaspoon, to see if it’s even smoother. A very delicious oolong, but I wouldn’t say the flavor profile distinctly tells me it’s a Bao Zhong oolong if it were a blind taste test, though to be honest, I’ve only tried a handful of Bao Zhong teas.
Steep #1 // 1 heaping teaspoon for a full mug // 18 minutes after boiling // 1 minute steep
Steep #2 // 13 minutes after boiling // 1 1/2 minute steep
Steep #3 // 13 minutes after boiling // 2 min steep
Steep #4 // just boiled // 3 min steep
This is You :-D
Profile
Bio
Hi! I love tea and trying new ones – it adds a bit of variety to my day! Books, music, TV & movies are my thing… and tea, of course.
Some of my favorite tea shops (still operating):
birdandblendtea.com
teavivre.com
52teas.com
svtea.com
whisperingpinestea.com
justea.com
harney.com
Dammann Freres
fusionteas.com
Javateaco.com
Lupicia
Octaviatea.com
Davidstea
eco-cha.com
what-cha.com
singleoriginteas.com
teasenz.com
tealyra.com
Mandala
verdanttea.com
Favorite tea shops (RIP):
butikiteas.com
steapshoppe.com
steepcityteas.com
aquartertotea.com
dellaterrateas.com
zentealife.com
angrytearoom.com
theteamerchant.net
joysteaspoon.com
tealiciousllc.com
Rivertea
Specialteas
My icon photo is Richard Mayhew from the graphic novel ‘Neverwhere’ by Neil Gaiman, Mike Carey & Glenn Fabry.
Most of the teas listed in my cupboard are actually sample sizes. I don’t really have 2,000 ounces of tea around here! Many of my teas have only one teaspoon left… maybe two. But I like keeping them in my cupboard list for reference to what I could be sipping. Usually, I write tasting notes once for each tea. I’m still drinking them, just not writing tasting notes each time!
I’m always in search of: Hattialli, Qu Hao black, Jin Jun Mei, teas using marshmallow root.
My dislikes: hibiscus, ginger (unless in chai), turmeric, bee pollen, charcoal type flavors
My ratings:
95-100 – Super awesome deliciousness favorites – cupboard essential
80-95 – Also pretty delicious
65-80 – Pretty good
50-65 – Okay
1-50 – Probably won’t want to sip it again
I’m planning on being a Steepsterer as long as there IS a Steepster, so if you’re not hearing from me, that means something happened to my health… if you know what I mean. (Or as evidenced by the great computer hiatus of 2019, something happened to my computer… I have a dumb phone so can’t access internet on that. As of 12/20/21 my wifi might start getting unreliable.)
Happy sipping!
Location
USA
