Baozhong
The most lightly oxidised oolong in common production, from the Wenshan area of northern Taiwan. It is barely bruised and not rolled into balls, so the leaf stays long and twisted, and the cup is so light and floral that it sits closer to a green tea than to any other oolong.
Character
Extremely floral and light-bodied, with the aroma doing nearly all the work. Useful as the low-oxidation anchor of the oolong range: put it beside Oriental Beauty and the breadth of the category becomes obvious in one sitting.
- Flavour
- Floral, Creamy, Vegetal
- Aroma
- Orchid, Fresh
- Mouthfeel
- Light, Silky
- Complexity
- Moderate
- Notes
- lilac, hyacinth, fresh cream, young leaves
- Aftertaste
- Delicately floral and clean.
Delicate intensity: light in the mouth with little grip. forgiving of a long steep.
Provenance and production
- Origin
- Taiwan
- Oxidation
- Minimally oxidised
- Harvest
- Spring
- Processing
- Withering → Bruising (shaking) → Kill-green (fixation) → Rolling and shaping → Drying
History
Named for the paper in which it was wrapped for sale — bao zhong means 'the wrapped kind'. It was made in Fujian before the technique moved to northern Taiwan in the nineteenth century, where it has largely stayed.
Brewing
Gongfu brewing (gaiwan)
4–5 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.
Common mistakes
- Storing it long — light oolong fades faster than roasted styles
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.
- Tie Guan Yin
The two lightest, most floral Fujian and Taiwanese oolongs. Baozhong is unrolled and even lighter.
- Cui Yu
Both sharply floral Taiwanese teas with little body, arrived at by cultivar in one case and by low oxidation in the other.
- Wenshan Baozhong
The district expression and the general style — effectively the same tea with the origin named.
Similar sensory profile
Shares controlled flavour, aroma and mouthfeel descriptors. A looser match — two teas can share descriptors and still taste nothing alike.
- Bai Ji Guan
Shares 6 descriptors with Baozhong: floral, creamy, light, silky, fresh and orchid.
- Hou Kui supreme
Shares 6 descriptors with Baozhong: floral, vegetal, light, silky, orchid and fresh.
- Shan Lin Xi
Shares 6 descriptors with Baozhong: floral, creamy, vegetal, silky, orchid and fresh.
- Taiping Houkui
Shares 6 descriptors with Baozhong: floral, vegetal, light, silky, orchid and fresh.
- Alishan oolong
Shares 5 descriptors with Baozhong: floral, creamy, silky, orchid and fresh.
Written comparisons
Where TeaHQ has set this tea against another in full, rather than deriving the comparison.
- Baozhong vs green tea — Baozhong is the lightest oxidised oolong there is, and the question of whether it is really an oolong at all is a reasonable one to ask.
- Darjeeling vs oolong — Darjeeling first flush is so lightly oxidised that the category boundary is worth questioning, and comparing it with an oolong shows why.
Journeys featuring this tea
- Moving beyond tea bags — Someone comfortable with loose black tea who has never tried the other categories.
- Discover oolong — Someone who has had one oolong and could not tell what made it an oolong.
- Understanding tea families — Someone who has heard there are six kinds of tea and wants to know what actually separates them.
- Finding your first loose leaf tea — Someone ready to buy loose leaf and unsure which of the hundreds of names to start with.
- Building a home tea setup — Someone who wants to buy equipment in the order that actually improves the cup.