Aged Baozhong
Baozhong kept for a decade or more with periodic re-roasting. The lightest of Taiwan’s oolongs turns out to age surprisingly well, developing a plum-and-medicinal character while retaining more delicacy than aged rolled oolong.
Character
Plummy and gently medicinal, retaining more delicacy than aged ball-rolled oolong does.
- Flavour
- Fruity, Sweet, Woody
- Aroma
- Caramelised
- Mouthfeel
- Full bodied, Silky, Smooth
- Complexity
- Layered
- Notes
- stewed plum, dried herbs, warm wood
- Aftertaste
- Soft, sweet and medicinal.
Moderate intensity: noticeable weight or grip, but neither dominates the cup.
Provenance and production
- Origin
- Taiwan
- Region
- Wenshan
- Cultivar
- Qing Xin
- Oxidation
- Lightly oxidised
- Roast
- Light
- Post-fermentation
- Natural ageing
- Harvest
- Spring
- Processing
- Withering → Bruising (shaking) → Oxidation → Kill-green (fixation) → Strip rolling → Drying → Ageing and storage → Re-firing
History
Ageing Baozhong is a recent Taiwanese practice, developed from the 1990s as the market for aged oolong grew. It surprised producers that so lightly oxidised a tea would age at all.
Brewing
Gongfu brewing (gaiwan)
4–6 g/100 ml · 85–92 °C · 5 authored infusions
Western brewing (teapot or mug)
1.5–2.5 g/100 ml · 90–95 °C · 2 authored infusions
No caffeine estimate is authored for this tea. TeaHQ does not infer one from its category, because category predicts caffeine poorly — matcha and gyokuro carry more than many black teas.
If you like this
Grouped by why they were suggested, strongest reason first. Nothing here is a blended score — a suggestion appears under the best reason that exists for it, and never under a weaker one as well.
Editorially linked
Someone wrote down why these two belong together. The note below is theirs.
- Chen Xiang Tie Guan Yin
Two aged Taiwanese and Fujian oolongs, both re-roasted periodically. Aged Baozhong keeps more delicacy because it started far less oxidised.
Similar sensory profile
Shares controlled flavour, aroma and mouthfeel descriptors. A looser match — two teas can share descriptors and still taste nothing alike.
- Liu Bao
Shares 7 descriptors with Aged Baozhong: woody, sweet, fruity, smooth, full bodied, silky and caramelised.
- Aged Gong Mei
Shares 6 descriptors with Aged Baozhong: sweet, fruity, woody, full bodied, smooth and caramelised.
- Aged Shou Mei
Shares 6 descriptors with Aged Baozhong: sweet, fruity, woody, full bodied, smooth and caramelised.
- Aged white tea cake
Shares 6 descriptors with Aged Baozhong: sweet, woody, fruity, full bodied, smooth and caramelised.
- Hong Shui oolong
Shares 6 descriptors with Aged Baozhong: fruity, sweet, woody, full bodied, smooth and caramelised.
- Yiwu sheng pu-erh
Shares 6 descriptors with Aged Baozhong: sweet, fruity, woody, silky, smooth and full bodied.
- Aged GABA oolong
Shares 5 descriptors with Aged Baozhong: fruity, sweet, full bodied, smooth and caramelised.