Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Baked Wenshan Baozhong

On January 21, 2010, my new friends Israel and Sarah joined me for a day trip to Pinglin, Taiwan to meet my buddy Amin. When we arrived at his house we could smell the delicate fragrance of baked Wenshan Baozhong tea (文山包種茶) coming from this warm electric oven.



We spent the afternoon hiking around the lovely green hills, eating an unforgettable lunch prepared by Amin's mom, and sampling many amazing local teas.

One of several teas that I decided to buy from Amin was this baked Wenshan Baozhong tea to sell at Teacup (the busy Seattle tea shop at which I work). So far, it has been very well received.

The dry leaves have a long and elegant shape with a nice mix of orange, brown and green color. They smell a little bit nutty and woodsy.



The tea soup is a pretty golden color and smells a bit like fresh baked whole wheat bread.



This oolong has a super smooth start which transforms into a faintly peppery finish, and its flavor seems much less roasty in the mouth than it did in the nose. My tasting notes for this tea included honey, snap peas and baked apples.

Please come by the Teacup if you're interested in tasting some with me.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Interesting post .... sounds like a tea I might like. I have a question for you. I bought some teas from a vendor in China and he sent a gift of Nuo Ming Tiang. It is a green tea unlike any I have tasted yet. Very nutty, somewhat earthy. Do you know anything about this tea? I have googled it and I come up with nothing. I of course have a communication problem with the seller, or I would ask him. Anything you could tell me would be helpful.

Kathy

Brett said...

Hi Kathy. Nuo Ming Tiang does not ring a bell. That is a very untraditional spelling for Chinese words.If you could email me a photo of the tea and/or the name in Chinese characters, I may be able to help figure out what you have. blackdragontea@gmail.com is my email. Good luck with your mystery tea!

CindyW said...

I loved this tea, Brett! It was savory, sweet, and silky smooth. My tasting notes are posting on my blog here:

http://www.meltingteapot.com/blog5.php/2010/03/12/baozhong-aamp-celadon