> Would the pinyin "luan" or "ruan" be the character that means ruined,
> by chance?

It means 'soft'.

Anyway, the lightly oxidation follows the current popular
> trend for qing xiang types of tea. The more deeply roasted teas, quite
> excellent if you can get a good grade, are becoming harder and harder
> to find. I had some shu xiang TGY that I found during the later part
> of last winter that was simply wonderful. It was cooked so well that
> it had a long lingering sweetness that seemed to flow through your
> mouth, throat, and nose...it would last for hours it seemed. It's
> unfortunate this style is now becoming less appreciated.

Completely agree with you here.

> > Baozhong is usually graded depending on the quality, concentration and
> > length of the leaves. There are low quality/grade baozhongs, but there
> > are also very high grade baozhongs that belong to the best teas that
> > the island produces.
>
> I've heard of the baozhong being referred as luan (ruan) tea, meaning
> ruined. It could be a pun, though. My students and friends all tell
> me that baozhong simply is low quality; I'd be interested in finding
> some of that high grade stuff that you describe.

Please send me your postal address. I think I can help.

Stéphane

Mydnight wrote:
> > Should only be called Baozhong those semi-fermented teas based on
> > qingxin (also called ruanzi or luanze) Oolong and processed with open
> > leaves (not rolled) and come from the Wen Shan (northern Taiwan area).
> > So there are 3 conditions to be fulfilled.
> > Baozhong has become synonymous for very light oxidation and
> > fermentation. Traditional Baozhong used to be medium oxidated. There
> > are also various possible levels of roasting for Baozhong, but I won't
> > go into the details.

Oh, I got it now. We usually refer to the leaves as being "nen" which
means soft; I've heard it called "luan" a few times but I forgot about
that. Could you please give the character for "pei" to Jim because I'm
not sure which one you mean.

> Would the pinyin "luan" or "ruan" be the character that means ruined,
> by chance? Anyway, the lightly oxidation follows the current popular
> trend for qing xiang types of tea. The more deeply roasted teas, quite
> excellent if you can get a good grade, are becoming harder and harder
> to find. I had some shu xiang TGY that I found during the later part
> of last winter that was simply wonderful. It was cooked so well that
> it had a long lingering sweetness that seemed to flow through your
> mouth, throat, and nose...it would last for hours it seemed. It's
> unfortunate this style is now becoming less appreciated.

I have also heard "luan" being used as a pun in this way.

Mydnight wrote:
> Mydnight wrote:
> > > Should only be called Baozhong those semi-fermented teas based on
> > > qingxin (also called ruanzi or luanze) Oolong and processed with open
> > > leaves (not rolled) and come from the Wen Shan (northern Taiwan area).
> > > So there are 3 conditions to be fulfilled.
> > > Baozhong has become synonymous for very light oxidation and
> > > fermentation. Traditional Baozhong used to be medium oxidated. There
> > > are also various possible levels of roasting for Baozhong, but I won't
> > > go into the details.
>
> Oh, I got it now. We usually refer to the leaves as being "nen" which
> means soft; I've heard it called "luan" a few times but I forgot about
> that. Could you please give the character for "pei" to Jim because I'm
> not sure which one you mean.

My understanding is that 'nen' means fresh, tender (which is a good
quality for tea as for vegetables). In ruanzi (luanzi) Oolong, it's
merely a name that uses to soft stems of that kind of Oolong tree to
give a name to that kind of Oolong (the one mostly used in high
mountain Oolong).

Stéphane

> My understanding is that 'nen' means fresh, tender (which is a good
> quality for tea as for vegetables). In ruanzi (luanzi) Oolong, it's
> merely a name that uses to soft stems of that kind of Oolong tree to
> give a name to that kind of Oolong (the one mostly used in high
> mountain Oolong).
>
> Stéphane

Many people also use "nen" to describe the leaf quality. The more
tender, or "nen", the leaves are, usually the better the quality. You
can get some mainland, cheap TGYs and notice that the leaves are hard
from either chemical additives or poor drying/cooking processing.

What about my Pei Pei ;-).
Jim

Tea Masters Blog wrote:
....
> > Mydnight wrote:
> > Oh, I got it now. We usually refer to the leaves as being "nen" which
> > means soft; I've heard it called "luan" a few times but I forgot about
> > that. Could you please give the character for "pei" to Jim because I'm
> > not sure which one you mean.
>
> My understanding is that 'nen' means fresh, tender (which is a good
> quality for tea as for vegetables). In ruanzi (luanzi) Oolong, it's
> merely a name that uses to soft stems of that kind of Oolong tree to
> give a name to that kind of Oolong (the one mostly used in high
> mountain Oolong).
>
> Stéphane

Space Cowboy wrote:
> What about my Pei Pei ;-).
> Jim

烘 = hong
ç„™ = pei

Stéphane

Oh that Bei,Bei. I keep forgetting about the WG use of P,C,U,etc and
Mandarin B,Z,O,etc or spell it anyway you want in Taiwan according to
Alex.

Thanks,
Jim

Tea Masters Blog wrote:
> Space Cowboy wrote:
> > What about my Pei Pei ;-).
> > Jim
>
> 烘 = hong
> ç„™ = pei
>
> Stéphane

Michael Plant wrote:

>
> The vendor said 50%; at any rate, it was far darker
> and less subtle than the true green lovely version I've
> come to know and love. The leaves in question were
> not highly roasted.
> Michael

Hello Michael and guy out there,
My first "green Oolong" was jade oolong from tea treasures. Previously
I had monkey picked, and Ti kuan yin. All were new to me and all tasted
very different but very good. The unique taste of the jade I dont know
if it was green, or just flowery green but it showed me that all
oolongs are not alike . Wow what a revelation I had no idea what
diversity I getting into. Another , like you to me , a teacher, Brian
from DC told me about BaoZhong. It looked partially green and brown
with long slightly twisted leaves and was sweet and green and full of
flavor too.
Well I have come along way and have tasted many many oolongs and Jade
Oolong from that online merchant showed me there are many roads. Not to
mention the aged ones the darker ones the wuyi, anxi etc ect .Just
Taiwan has a variety that I hope to taste every one.
Bottom line for me, its what you like and what you are willing to pay
for it.
and like Michael says there is always a better cup of tea somewhere.
Jenn
enjoying a cup of zhong shu hu A light and lovely oolong from taiwan.