A sunshiny, happy tea. The floral fragrance here doesn’t have the studied manners of the Competition Baozhong, it is big and unrestrained. Oxidation is a tinge deeper, with a broth that is further into gold than jade, and rich in flavor. There’s a hint of almondy fragrance, but the forefront is really that big juicy floral note. I’m also able to detect a pineapple fruitiness and freshly steamed spring greens. We have been working with the Chen family for years. They provide us with Farmer's Choice Baozhong. They also used to make our Competition Style Baozhong up until a few years ago. Due to pressure from competition judges to move into greener and greener territory, we began to find their competition baozhong a bit hard on the stomach and thin, albeit with plentiful zippy aroma. However, a couple years ago now Mrs. Chen recommended to her son that he try a bit more old fashioned approach and oxidize the tea longer. This experimental batch was a challenge to Chen junior, as he knew it would not stand a chance in competitions (broth is more gold than jade, and lacks the snappy green bean aroma of modern winning teas). However, when she tasted the result Mrs. Chen knew her clientele would be fighting over this crop of tea. Towards the end of an afternoon of tasting many greener teas that we didn't find appealing, Mrs. Chen finally brought out this sweet floral tea that was intended for another customer. It was love at first taste, and we snagged the whole bag! It tastes more like Baozhong we remember from 10-15 years ago, with a sweet round broth and distinctively floral (not marzipan or green bean) aroma. This is a lighthearted, happy tea that is sweet like flowers and extremely quaffable.
