Cultivar: TTES No 22 Qin Yu (A new cultivar with Qingxin Oolong as male parent and Jinxuan as female parent).

Harvested by hand: Early November 2024

Origin: A 5 years young and organic plantation in San Hsia, North Taiwan.

Process: Lightly to medium oxidized striped leaves, dried, with some stems.

1. View

The dry leaves have a fresh dark green color. The brew has a concentrated, bright dark yellow hue that indicates a good oxidation level, as we can see from the open leaves. This is a very traditional way of making Baozhong. The leaves feel healthy when you touch them with your fingers thanks to their organic growth method.

2. Scents

The dry leaves have scents of wood and subtropical forest, the most typical Baozhong scent. The brew's fragrances are quite flowery with local subtropical flowers like yulan. There are some veggie notes and wood that appear later on.

3. Taste

The taste is pure and clean, bright and sweet. The aftertaste is quite long thanks to an underlying dryness. This QinYu feels like a rounded Qingxin Oolong. 

Conclusion: It's also interesting to compare this Baozhong with its spring version to understand how spring and winter are quite similar seasons and taste the difference. Instead of imitating the 'high mountain Oolong' profile, this Baozhong goes in retro mode and I fell thrown back 20 years ago when I first discovered the Baozhong character. Here, we have an organic Baozhong from a new plantation that was made with great skill. This is how you can best drink the character of these hills south of Taipei.