Baozhong Oolong Tea

This is a very nice oolong tea. I love the appearance of the tightly wrapped ooloong spheres before they are brewed up. How much unfurling goes on whilst it steeps is pretty remarkable. The transformation is so pretty afterwards when I look at the leaves expanded and transformed. Each oolong I try from Oollo has a unique flavour even with no added ingredients. Oollo describes this tea as having “elegant lilac and vanilla fragrances while developing delicate sweet, floral notes” There is a lovely flowery and grassy flavour that blends with a natural creaminess. A very nice late morning/early afternoon tea before I switch to herbal and rooibos teas. The more I drink oolongs, the more I value that transition tea from the morning black and mates to the late afternoon/evening herbals.

This was a nice tea. It took a while to develop, but it did. Vegetal and green, but not overly so because of how light it was. There were definite creamy notes of vanilla and some fruitiness, but vanilla, florals, and fresh greens were the tastes overall. Three western steeps. My main complaint was the price and the lightness of the tea.

Deep dark green twisted leaves. very heady floral aromas. I need to sniff flowers more because I never know what is what. but definitely detect lilac.
Also some celery.
Palate is very light and again very floral with a touch of spiciness at the end.
think nutmeg and a wee drop of aniseed.

slightest grip on the finish in the throat

overall, extremely delicate and floral tea. Thank you, Taiwan

Another tea from VariaTEA always nice trying new teas…even if they are green oolongs! This has a fabulous aroma to it, though it ands squarely in that oolong range that i don’t love. However, ignoring that, i can see this being a nice vegetal oolong for those that like that taste.

So it is upper 70’s today and will top out around 80 F. It has been 90+ all month until today. We could really use rain but it keeps passing us by. But it is beautiful outside, so cause for celebration and some of the first hot tea I have prepared this month! Yes I’ve been living off a combination of cold milk/matcha lattes, Diet Mt Dew (purely for the caffeine rush), and Lipton Diet Citrus Green Tea. Don’t judge.

I’ve had Baozhong before. That’s what I told myself, until I opened this sample. I literally said, “Oh, Wow!” when the aroma hit me. I can’t paint a word picture as beautifully as Amanda, but this smells so wonderful. Lilacs! After reading Amanda’s review, I agree on peonies as well. Really, I could almost use this as potpourri and be happy. I brewed it instead.

The cup looks like liquid gold. It glimmers in the light.

The taste is softer than I expected. Once I tuned in to it this really opened up. The front of the taste is very much like the aroma. The mid sip I get what to me is a spice quality about it that reminds me of very mild custard and nutmeg. At least that is how my brain interprets it. The aftertaste is a classic Taiwan green oolong vegetal.

A wonderful light cup.

There is a problem in Ramble’s Nether. Do you all remember Ramble? The crazy mountain (back when extreme hills were kinda rare) seed on the 360 that was my first seed? Oh the many deaths I had, well, until I realized I could switch over to playing creative and then the wild building frenzy happened. I have had other creative seeds but none of them have brought me as much joy as that one, recently I went back to it, when the update that brought jungles happened a year or so ago all the biomes got screwy and I in turn got very frustrated at how things looked…but I am getting off track. The Nether! I am currently building there and I have an inundation of Blazes! I have destroyed all the spawners but they just keep coming, since I am in creative they just kinda hover around, but oh man do they get in the way! Clearly they are trying to take over!!

Yes, Minecraft has been hardcore in my mind as of late…blame the recent update and my xbox being fixed, but there is always the ever present tea on my mind as well, and as much as this blog is tea and geekery, it is primarily tea, so let’s get to it! Today we are looking at Baozhong Oolong from Oollo Tea, from the mountainous regions of Wenshan in Pinglin, Taiwan, Baozhong (or Pouchong as it is also frequently called) is the greenest of the green oolongs. Long and twisted like a Yancha, but vibrantly green, this tea is frequently only oxidized up to 12%, so yeah, super green. The aroma of the leaves is a blend of very floral and green notes. Starting with sweet notes of lily, orchid, lilac, and hyacinth, these floral notes transition to green vegetation, a touch of sage, and a bit of broken fresh leaves. The green notes are not the notes of vegetables, but of spring growth, this tea smells like springtime!

The tea wished to be brewed in my Baozhong teapot, because lots of teas request the joys of a yixing pot (really this is why I have so many, I swear.) The aroma of the now doused leaves is very sweet, with almost creamy floral notes of hyacinth, orchid, and that delightfully slightly spicy floral note of Asiatic Lily. There is also a bit of fresh growth and crushed vegetation, like walking off the path in a garden. The liquid is sweet and light, dancing notes of Asiatic Lily and hyacinth, with a hint of lilac at the finish, it is ethereal.

The first steep has a great mouthfeel, very creamy and smooth. The taste starts out with a sweet and light blend of flower nectar and as soon as it hits the midtaste WOW explosion of flowers! It is a veritable bouquet of orchids, peony, lilies, hyacinth, lilac…someone made springtime in my mouth and I am totally ok with that. Reminds me so much of visiting the local gardens during the spring bloom, so heady and sweet.

On we go to the second steep! The aroma is still very sweet and floral, but also quite light with Asiatic lilies and hyacinth, the subtle spicy notes I find very appealing. This steep is more green, the floral notes are still pretty intense and sweet, but there is also a fresh green note of vegetation and a touch of leafy vegetable. Like kale but without the bitter taste associated with kale and a touch of Boston butter lettuce at the finish.

Third steeping time, the aroma is so intensely floral! Not only is there Asiatic lily, there is also hyacinth and orchid, it is super heady and sweet. The taste is exactly like the aroma, a massive explosion of heady spring flowers in my mouth with honey sweetness and a touch of sweet cream at the finish. There was an utter lack of green this time around, just intense floral sweetness.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2015/07/oollo-tea-baozhong-oolong-tea-review.html