Winter Wenshan Baozhongs

Last week, I went to Pinglin in the Wenshan area. The weather was rainy, which is making late tea harvests impossible. The moist weather even makes destemming and roasting difficult, because putting the leaves in open air would make them catch excessive moisture.

Still, I came back with a couple of new Baozhongs that I liked. Here a few words to describe them, in case I don't find the time to write a proper tasting note:

1. A high quality Tsui Yu (Jade Oolong tea tree) Baozhong that has been harvested on September 25th, 2007. Rather lightly oxidized and little roasted, it is more of the fragrant type and holds well long brews. This one carries an interesting Youzi fragrance, which is a local grapefruit. (150 grams packs and same price as Spring high quality Baozhong.)

2. A top grade 'lily flower' Baozhong harvest on October 25th, 2007 (before the rain). This one comes from the same luanze Oolong plantation as my previous top grade 'lily flower' Baozhongs. It had not been destemmed and lightly roasted yet. But the fragrance was very pleasant, fresh and clear. It actually tastes fresher now because it wasn't roasted. But this means that this not a tea that can be kept for over a year after opening the package. That's why I asked the farmer to package it in 100 grams packages (instead of 150 gr usually). Price per gram remains the same as for the same tea from Spring.

3. The last Baozhong I brought back is the Spring 2007 semi-wild Baozhong with an additional light roast (10%). I had purchased the whole batch of this special Baozhong this Spring. That's why I had enough left to make a roasted batch. I was interested in tasting it roasted. For Wuyi Yancha and for classic Dong Ding Oolong, I have noticed that the best tea leaves give the best roasted teas. So, for Baozhong, I also wanted to verify this fact/theory with this semi-wild Baozhong.
The result has strengthened my opinion. This Baozhong has now a very long, sweet and peachy aftertaste. The roasting has been done on September 23rd, so it had sufficient time to rest already. (This sem-wild Baozhong lightly roasted is packed in 100 grams packs and costs the same as unroasted). I will definitely make tasting notes for this tea one day...