Forest Fire 

Roasted Baozhong

• Type: Wulong
• Harvest: Spring 2023
• Cultivar: Qingxin
• Elevation: 650m
• Location: Pinglin District, New Taipei City
  

Tasting Notes

• Dry Leaf: Butter & Burnt Toast, Campfire Smoke.
• Wet Leaf: Cinnamon, Oak Wood, Floral Bouquet.
• Liquor: Clear-Brown.
• Taste: Toasted Almonds. 

The "Paper-Wrapped Kind" of Tea

包 - Bag, Parcel, Bundle, Packet

种 - Kind, Type

Baozhong refers to a historical method of packaging tea that involves transporting 5oz of leaves in small, paper-wrapped parcels. These packages were often decoratively stamped and featured colorful artwork. While Baozhong may no longer be produced this way, the name has Stuck for tea made in this region.

The first farms producing Baozhong were established in Nangang at the end of the 19th century. Now, they can be commonly found in Wenshan and Pinglin. 

Roasted In Mr. Huang's Shop

We visited Mr. Huang's shop on a friend's recommendation after visiting the Pinglin Tea Museum, one of the largest institutions dedicated to tea education in the world. Nestled alongside the Beishi River and rolling hills covered in tea plants, we learned about the different grades of Baozhong produced there. 

This is the highest grade of Roasted Baozhong he produces, but we were equally impressed with a Green kind that he had on the shelf. Find it here:  Paper Heart