12 Days of Christ-Tea-Mas - Day 1: Wenshan Baochong - Tea Ave

Wenshan Baochong - Tea Ave
Type: Unroasted Oolong
Appearance (dry): Dark green, rolled leaves with a large spread in sizes
Recommended Brewing Parameters: 95°C water, 10g(?) of tea, steep up to 30 sec
Rating: B | 83/100
# of Brews: 8

Tasting Notes:
Well, Day 1 and I already violated the brewing parameters I set for myself; I was given a sampler of this tea when I bought some Rose Oolong and a gaiwan, and it turns out that it only has 3 grams of tea. Anyway, it was a free sampler, so who cares. Today's album is he's not with us anymore by casio dad; pretty good chip-rock album, and it's free.

So, from the first brew, there was a very strong, sweet floral aroma- mainly, jasmine and roses- and the liquid was a surprising bright yellow-green. The flavor was similar to a tieguanyin, but not as roasted or astringent; rather it was smooth, brothy, and floral, like its smell. I could definitely taste the jasmine that was in the aroma. However, as time went on, it began to lose the floral notes and became more soup-like (in terms of viscosity and flavor); by the 4th brew, I could notice flavors such as cabbage, herbs (I'm guessing sage?), and a faint sweetness. However, by the 6th, the tea had begun to lose its flavor, but had gained sort of a Chinese-origin matcha (in terms of sweetness and floral notes). I stopped at brew #8, but it looks like it could go for a few more. Overall, a good tea, but it's a bit average for my preferences, mainly because it didn't really have any qualities that popped out to me.

Misc. Notes:
So, for these reviews, I'm going to go back to my original format in which I'll put the basic info (appearance, recommended brew parameters, a rating, number of brews, etc.) and a short section about flavor and how I brewed it. On another note, nice day today. Super strong winds and rain since I woke up to the time I'm writing this review. I'm mostly just going to do homework today, bake some stuff for friends, and head to UC Berkeley to finish up the sleep study (just an interview; I have another one at 6 months, and another at a year, and I'll be completely done!). See you guys tomorrow.