Oolong Box Pass

[tenuki]

http://www.floatingleavestea.com/teasho ... asp?id=202

[wyardley]

I don't see any Taiwan Wuyi available on Floating Leaves Tea's website. Is it not available anymore?

http://floatingleaves.com/teashop/shopexd.asp?id=202

I have a sample from when I was at her shop, but haven't gotten round to trying it yet.

Teamasters's 'shou cha' is another roasted baozhong that's worth trying.

[Salsero]

Wow, Chip must really be struggling with the Oolong box. Even his posting has slowed down. Must be tough to have all of those gorgeous Oolongs to sift through. Poor poor chip.

He's probably given up sencha altogether and thrown his life away in the vicious downward spiral of oolongism. Too much exposure, too quickly! And at such a tender young age! No one could be adequately prepared for that.

[Chip]

Wow, Chip must really be struggling with the Oolong box. Even his posting has slowed down. Must be tough to have all of those gorgeous Oolongs to sift through. Poor poor chip.

He's probably given up sencha altogether and thrown his life away in the vicious downward spiral of oolongism. Too much exposure, too quickly! And at such a tender young age! No one could be adequately prepared for that.

Had a Cat Scan today due to the "accident." The techs were all upset, seems the left part of my brain is all Japanese greens and the right is Oolong. At least I still have a TeaBrain anyway. Anyway, it was just precautionary because of some persistant problems.

I just finished 3 steeps of the very nice and oft aforementioned Taiwan Wuyi Baozhong from the Box Pass, pretty remarkable and different. I will return to this in the evening.

I finished this bag off, not really enough for an actual full gongfu session, but close enough to appreciate it. The dry leaf was pretty green, but darker than many Wenshan I have had. When I poured the leaf into my preheated gaiwan, a rich, complex aroma was all around me, pretty intense. I noticed some cocoa and fruit, complex, really nice.

Pouring the hot water over the leaf intensified the fruit, sort of a very ripe plum. With each steep, the complexity of the aroma and taste seemed to die down, becoming more plum like with a slight tart sensation again along the plum lines. I also sensed hints of prunes.

Overall, very nice, I would have liked another session. I see a lot of potential for Wuyi varietals in Baozhong form!!!!! I can say I like this more than more tradtional Chinese Wuyi. But that should not really surprise anyone, given my brain composition.

[ABx]

And here you were so sure you wouldn't like it from my description

[Chip]

This is their picture last I looked, not at all like the leaf which is GREEN, a little darker than most Wenshan Baozhong, but it is NOT brown. They also call it a strong roast, which it clearly is not. It is roasted, but I would not call it a strong roast.

It bridges the great divide between a baozhong and a Wuyi amazingly well. Thanks for all your info on it and for including it in the box, ABx.

Anyone interested in trying it, might want to ask them for a clarification first.

[tenuki]

Thanks for all your info on it and for including it in the box, ABx.

Your welcome.. ;P

Anyone interested in trying it, might want to ask them for a clarification first.

http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?t= ... c&start=46

The pic is the wrong one as has been discussed before. It's a strong roast in regards to the Baozhong style processing it underwent, not in relation to traditional Wu Yi teas obviously.

[wyardley]

Overall, very nice, I would have liked another session. I see a lot of potential for Wuyi varietals in Baozhong form!!!!! I can say I like this more than more tradtional Chinese Wuyi. But that should not really surprise anyone, given my brain composition.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong here, but I believe that many baozhongs are made from cultivars that are originally from Wuyishan already, and that's where baozhong gets its wiry shape. Because many Taiwanese came over from Fujian, a lot of the cultivars and methods come from there -- I think Guang or someone even made a map showing that most of the rolled types are more common nearer to Anxi and the wiry types are more common nearer to Wuyishan. The main difference here is just that it's a higher roast and maybe more oxidation. There are other vendors who sell roasted baozhong; they just don't call it "Taiwan Wuyi".

BTW, yan cha comes in a lot of different styles, including the much greener styles that are popular these days. Not quite as green as the baozhongs that are most popular in Taiwan now, but pretty green. Whether you consider those "traditional" or not, I don't know.

Personally, I like the more roasted forms of both.

[Chip]

Your welcome.. ;P

Anyone interested in trying it, might want to ask them for a clarification first.

The pic is the wrong one as has been discussed before. It's a strong roast in regards to the Baozhong style processing it underwent, not in relation to traditional Wu Yi teas obviously.

Thanks for the information, Tenuki. And thanks for sharing this tea and others I think I am trying. Heh, somehow I thought ABx had put it in the box. My mistake.

It is however interesting that the smokiness you found in February has really subsided. I wonder if you have any now and if your impression would be different today? This one has a LOT of frequent flyer miles compared to whatever you may still have and might be quite different today compared to this one.

Teasource Baozhong currently, more of a standard issue I guess?

Someone correct me if I'm wrong here, but I believe that many baozhongs are made from cultivars that are originally from Wuyishan already, and that's where baozhong gets its wiry shape. Because many Taiwanese came over from Fujian, a lot of the cultivars and methods come from there -- I think Guang or someone even made a map showing that most of the rolled types are more common nearer to Anxi and the wiry types are more common nearer to Wuyishan. The main difference here is just that it's a higher roast and maybe more oxidation. There are other vendors who sell roasted baozhong; they just don't call it "Taiwan Wuyi".

BTW, yan cha comes in a lot of different styles, including the much greener styles that are popular these days. Not quite as green as the baozhongs that are most popular in Taiwan now, but pretty green. Whether you consider those "traditional" or not, I don't know.

Very interesting and thanks for sharing. As much as I have recently enjoyed Baozhong, I need to learn a lot more about them. Unfortunately, vendors are notorious for misinformation, such as the Teasource photo. If I was shopping for Baozhong and saw the photo with above ...

[wyardley]

ps - I tried this infamous "Taiwan Wuyi" this morning, since I happened to have an unopened sample here at my office (from when I was visiting Seattle recently). The green part of the leaves were really bright green looking, and the smell from the dry leaf smelled greener than I had hoped... however, the brewed tea is pretty nice. There is a really nice, lasting guava taste, like that of a decent greenish TGY. (I've never actually tried guava, but I know what people describe as a guava taste, and I have a new appreciation for its pungent-ness after someone brought some to work and left them in the kitchen all day.) I think I prefer the taste (going down) of Stéphane (@ Teamasters) shou cha, but the aftertaste and perfumey aroma of this one is nice.

It's got a little more of a savory / vegetal thing going on than a typical green yan cha.

The smell under the lid gets even better during the later notes, a kind of sweet / spicy smell that reminds me of a medium roast yan cha. Durability seems Ok.

Overall, it's as Shiuwen described it - not anything crazy, but interesting nonetheless. She is very honest and modest (almost to a fault) about her teas.

[tenuki]

It is however interesting that the smokiness you found in February has really subsided. I wonder if you have any now and if your impression would be different today? This one has a LOT of frequent flyer miles compared to whatever you may still have and might be quite different today compared to this one.

May be a different batch. I'll ask next time I'm in.

[Chip]

Packing up the oolong box and gettting it ready for its next destination, Philadelphia! I will PM the info to you when I ship it off, Towerofdabble!

[t4texas]

Victoria - just a reminder that I would like to be included in the Oolong box pass if you send it around again.

Thanks,

t4texas

[Victoria]

Absolutely! Due to the overwhelming success, I think it will be having a second round!

[cheaton]

Absolutely! Due to the overwhelming success, I think it will be having a second round!

I think I may be ready to participate in this the next time around. But, my tea collection won't be up to contributing alot (since i've just started it!).