Here is yet another review from the backlog. I have recently gotten serious about finally clearing this thing out and will be making a concerted effort to do so this time. If I can make the time to type two reviews a day, I should be able to finish it within a couple of weeks. That being said, I finished the last of this tea and wrote a review for it like two weeks ago or something like that. Naturally, I’m just now getting around to posting about it here. Like the previous Floating Leaves baozhongs I have tried, this was a quality tea. I’m always surprised how well their teas hold up in storage, and truth be told, their stuff may be a little pricey compared to some, but you almost always get your money’s worth.
I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a very quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 185 F water for 7 seconds. This infusion was followed by 12 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, and 3 minutes.
Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted lovely aromas of butter, custard, grass, and fresh flowers accompanied by a slight breadiness. The tasting note provided by Floating Leaves Tea suggested there was a clear pineapple aroma present on the dry leaf, but I did not get that at all. After the rinse, I picked up on emerging aromas of sugarcane, vanilla, and spinach. The floral aromas began to intensify and separate. I definitely detected scents of lilac, violet, and gardenia. I thought I may have picked up a touch of something like magnolia at one point, but I was never certain about that. The first infusion then brought out a touch of lily. The liquor expressed delicate, yet very nice notes of baked bread and cream which quickly gave way to subtler hints of grass, spinach, flowers, and oddly enough, ripe melon. Subsequent infusions brought out stronger floral impressions, and I was able to pick up a touch of sweet pea. Notes of honeydew, cantaloupe, minerals, green apple, lime zest, Asian pear, and zucchini emerged, as did touches of fresh peas and sea salt on the brief, umami-accented fade. The later infusions were mostly dominated by notes of minerals, butter, and cream, though I could still detect hints of Asian pear, melon, peas, grass, zucchini, and sea salt.
I almost always really enjoy the baozhongs offered by Floating Leaves Tea. Their farmer’s choice teas, in particular, are often an incredible value. This one was certainly no exception. For the price, the leaf quality was exceptional and the tea had a ton to offer both on the nose and in the mouth. To be honest, I finished a pouch of this tea and a pouch of their Winter 2016 Competition Baozhong fairly close together, and I thought this tea represented a better value overall. Both were great, but at the end of the day, I preferred this one. I would definitely recommend it highly to baozhong fans.
Flavors: Bread, Butter, Cantaloupe, Cream, Custard, Floral, Gardenias, Grass, Green Apple, Honeydew, Lime, Mineral, Pear, Peas, Salt, Spinach, Sugarcane, Umami, Vanilla, Violet, Zucchini
