2019 Smooth Water Baozhong is my favorite Taiwanese oolong this season from Floating Leaves Tea. I sampled it in the shop (already going in knowing I’ll love it as I enjoyed last year’s Nangang Baozhong), purchased, and I keep reaching for it.
Smooth Water Baozhong is from Nangang, the birthplace of Baozhong. Modern Baozhong has gone very floral compared to the traditional old school Nangang style. I know many dislike Baozhong as it drinks like perfume, but this classic Nangang Baozhong is different.
Leaf and Steeping Method
Smooth Water Baozhong ‘s leaf has a milky floral scent.
For today, I used 1 gram of leaf per 15ml of vessel size gongfu ration. I steeped my tea in boiling water. After a rinse and steeping, the leaf smells like steamed spinach.
Tasting of Floating Leaves Tea’s 2019 Smooth Water Baozhong
First and Second Infusion: Smooth Water Baozhong tastes like a white rabbit candy, but not as sweet and far from artificial. The tea is milky, buttery, sweet, and incredibly smooth. However, the taste isn’t the main attraction, for this tea is all about the texture. Smooth Water Baozhong is thick, as if I’m sipping heavy cream, and it leaves a silky oily lip sensation. The aftertaste has a touch of floral and a soft vegetal buttered leaf pokes out. The second infusion has a zestier leafy aftertaste giving off a bit of a perilla leaf vibe.
Third Infusion: This set of infusions are very milky but lost sweetness. There is a calming stillness in this infusion, like undisturbed lake that mirrors the mountains.
Smooth Water Baozhong is trying to calm me down. In previous sessions with this tea, it has a gentle calming focus. However, I am drinking this after two high mountain oolongs and a white, so I am zippy and this tea is making an attempt to settle me down.
Fourth Infusion: Smooth Water Baozhong switched quickly to tasting zesty, vegetal, and almost peppery. It’s got a sweet kale aspect to it with a gentle perfume aftertaste. The texture is still like drinking cream.
Fifth and Sixth Infusion: I think the fourth infusion got the boat was rocking on the surface of our smooth lake. This steeping has astringency to it, shaking the calm foundation. The last infusion had a tree sap and zesty grassy taste, but it was very dry.
Comments
Floating Leaves Tea’s 2019 Smooth Water Baozhong is a smooth, relaxing, milky profiled tea, with some zesty vegetal and floral subtly thrown in. It is unlike the other modern Baozhongs that have saturated the market with heavy floral flavor. It is a texture drinker’s dream and perfect for those who love creamy profiles.
