Story

This Smooth Water Baozhong is from the birthplace of Taiwanese Baozhong, Nangang. Around the turn of the 20th century, Baozhong was produced as a flower scented export tea 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. 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 Baozhong.

The first time he and Shiuwen met, he opened with “I bet you’ve never tasted real Baozhong”. 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. What’s the difference, can we try some?” Of course he was excited to share his tea and his knowledge, so they whipped out some Pinglin Baozhong, his Nangang Baozhong, 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 down. So we call it Smooth Water!

Description

The scent of this tea is delicate and soft with a deep sweetness. The notes reminds us of flowers and marzipan, which are carried by a gentle lifting feeling, penetrating deeply into the sinuses. The broth is elegant, almost ethereal at first, but full and round. It fills into every corner of the mouth, and there’s a puffing texture that reaches the roof of the mouth.

The capacity of this tea is similar to Dong Ding Traditional, even though the general feeling is MUCH lighter. It has the same capacity to reach the throat with a warming sensation, and it pushes past to leave an ‘aftertaste’ in the chest. The aftertaste in the mouth is both ‘fragrance’ style aftertaste and ‘feeling’ style aftertaste. What I mean is the floral, almondy fragrance evaporates and fills the mouth after you swallow, and, at the same time the broth leaves behind a light salivation and puffy feeling to let you know it was there.

We are very proud to carry this tea, just as the farmer who makes it is proud to share it. It is very clean, and it has a deeper capacity to ‘move’ than most teas at this price point. A customer pointed out that she loves this tea because it makes her feel like she just finished Qi Gong practice. The way I feel is that it is ‘opening’; it is gentle enough to move in between the cracks. With such a soft feeling and floral fragrance, it is thoroughly refreshing.

Facts

Harvest Location : Nangang, Taiwan
Harvest Date : November, 2020
Cultivar : Qingxin

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