Farmer's Choice Baozhong 2023 Spring

Baozhong is fragrant, open leaf oolong on the green side of the spectrum. Leaves are long and spindly. The Farmer's Choice is made with a special slow growing cultivar that has a unique savory taste, and is oxidized a bit more than its Competition Style counterpart. This brings the notes into the realm of fruit rather than the bright flowery bouquet of prize seeking Baozhong.

This Baozhong is made by our longtime farmer friend Mr Chen in Pinglin. We have been working with him since 2005. He was born into a family of rice farmers, and he switched to tea when he was 17. He is a delightful, hard working and upbeat man. He has an experimental attitude about tea farming, and does every step of the processing in house, instead of outsourcing as is common practice now.

Nice full bodied taste for a light oolong, the aroma is heavily accented by notes of pineapple and summer squash. Broth is big and juicy in the mouth and has a long, sweet aftertaste. Pleasantly fruity with a round, balanced broth, depending on your taste preferences this could be the only tea you ever need.

We're really enjoying Farmer's Choice after it rests, so if you are fond of this tea, don't be afraid to let it age for a few months or even a year (in its sealed bag of course). Last Spring's tea is tasting especially great right now.

Facts

• Harvest Location : Pinglin, Taiwan
• Harvest Date : May, 2023
• Cultivar : Man Zhong
• Farming Method : Conventional*

*Because this garden is located far away from the Chen family's home up on a hill, they don't get around to feeding it fertilizers or spraying pesticides very often. Taiwan already has fairly strict regulations on pesticide use, but based on the taste this should fall below the standard for conventionally grown tea. I actually don't detect any trace of pesticides, but probably inorganic fertilizer did get into the soil this season.