2022 Winter Smooth Water Baozhong
Story
This Smooth Water Baozhong is from Nangang, the birthplace of Taiwanese Baozhong. Around the turn of the 20th century, Baozhong was produced as a flower scented tea, exported to South Asia and Northern China. The Taiwan Tea Reform Institute challenged farmers to create a Baozhong with the floral scent that drinkers were looking for, but naturally, without adding any scenting agent. The two farmers who successfully produced that flavor were both growing tea in Nangang. Now, Nangang tea farmers are very proud of their tradition of producing excellent floral Baozhong.
The first time he and Shiuwen met, he opened with "I bet you've never tasted real Baozhong before". He's very proud of what he makes as it was passed down through his family, and he wanted to show what Nangang tea could do. Shiuwen, never wanting to lose out on an opportunity to learn, said "Oh, I must not have. I've only had Pinglin Baozhong, never Nangang. What's the difference, can we try some?" Of course he was excited to share his tea and his knowledge, so they whipped his Nangang Baozhong, some Pinglin Baozhong to compare, and some bowls. The take away was that after 20 minutes soaking in a tea bowl, this Nangang Baozhong maintained a beautifully smooth, soft texture without "breaking". So we call it Smooth Water!
Description
Dry leaves are a deep, vibrant forest green and broth the color of jade. The aroma is delicate and feminine, with sweet florals and powdery marzipan, with a refreshing base of freshly picked snappy garden beans.
The broth is extremely soft, it coats the mouth and throat and leaves behind a refreshing sweet aftertaste and gentle salivation. There’s an intensity to the aroma this year, that builds in the aftertaste and concentrates in the back of the upper palate.
This year, we nabbed this batch just in time. The remainder that we didn’t buy was sent to the competition and won 2nd place!
Facts
- Harvest Location : Nangang, Taiwan
- Harvest Date : November, 2022
- Cultivar : Qingxin