Baozhong
Baozhong (Chinese 包種茶), also Pouchong, is a very lightly oxidized oolong tea. It is usually only minimally roasted or not roasted at all and stylistically sits between green tea and more fully developed oolong styles. Typical features include a clear, pale liquor, a refined floral aroma (often orchid-like), and long, strip-shaped, twisted leaves.
Etymology
The name Baozhong can be understood as “the wrapped kind/variety” and refers to a historical practice of packing tea during or after processing into paper portions. This packaging form largely disappeared with modernization, but the name remained.
Growing areas
Taiwan
The best-known expression internationally is Wenshan Baozhong (文山包種茶) from northern Taiwan. The traditional Wenshan tea area encompasses tea-producing districts in the greater Taipei region.
Classic and still relevant origin areas include:
- Taipei City: Wenshan District (文山區, incl. Muzha/木柵) and Nangang District (南港區)
- New Taipei City: Pinglin (坪林區), Shiding (石碇區), Shenkeng (深坑區), Pingxi (平溪區), Xizhi (汐止區), Xindian (新店區), and Sanxia (三峽區)
The gardens are largely located in hilly to mountainous terrain; overview sources describe the Wenshan tea area as covering around 2,300 hectares, with many gardens at elevations from roughly 400 m upward.
Pinglin is considered today the most important center for Wenshan Baozhong and is the key reference point for the style in terms of both volume and quality.
China
On the Chinese mainland, Baozhong or Pouchong has historically been produced—often in related style forms—especially in Fujian. In international usage, however, the term usually refers to the Taiwanese Wenshan style.
History
The development of the Baozhong style is linked to late 19th-century tea trade routes between Fujian and Taiwan. After Taiwanese oolong exports faced market challenges around 1873, producers sought new styles and market solutions.
According to official Taiwanese accounts, the Fujian tea merchant Wu Fulao (吳福老) introduced the Baozhong method from Anxi to Taiwan in 1881, with the technique in these sources traced back to Wang Yicheng (王義程).
Early production and trading centers were located in the Nangang area and the then major tea hub Dadaocheng. During the Japanese colonial period (1895–1945), tea production was institutionally supported. The term “Wenshan Baozhong” became established as a collective designation for the main northern Taiwanese Baozhong areas within the then administrative region of Wenshan.
Production
Baozhong is lightly withered, gently bruised/shaken, and only briefly oxidized, keeping oxidation low. The tea is then heated to halt oxidation (shaqing), shaped, and dried. In contrast to ball-rolled Taiwanese oolongs, Baozhong is typically twisted into long strips.
The classic cultivar for Wenshan Baozhong is Qing Xin (青心烏龍). Modern gardens may also use other Taiwanese cultivars.
See also
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