Batch 113 of the Eco-Cha Tea Club is an Early Spring Bi Luo Chun Green Tea from Sanxia, Taiwan. These leaves were plucked on March 12, and we picked them up the next day. The leaves were still being cured and dried when we arrived at the factory. The photo above shows the leaves after they slowly wilted overnight. We purposely waited for more than a week after the harvest began this year. Last year we procured the very first day of spring harvest, and it was amazingly fragrant and quite distinct in character. But we learned that the very first sprouted leaves of spring are extremely delicate. We decided to go for the second week this year in order to get more substantial flavor. It was a good idea!

Shown above is a sample of the leaves that were just completely dried moments before, and a large scoop was carried straight out of the factory and  into the tasting room. We had a very good impression upon first sight, and the tasting confirmed our perception. We feel like we hit the mark in terms of the timing of early spring harvest, combined with the fact the weather was clear on the day of harvest.

The nitty gritty of this sourcing story is that the adult son of this family-run factory wanted to give us less than we reserved with him several days prior. When we asked why, he said that a local customer just called and asked to purchase this batch for competition. We thought that was a bit rude of him, and pointed out that we have been in touch with him for two weeks, and just drove three hours to pick up what he agreed to supply. His mom readily agreed with us, and proceeded to to divvy out our share for us. The son left the scene, visibly displeased with his parents overriding his sudden attempt to renegotiate!

It turns out that there was actually enough of the freshly cured leaf to go around. Including the guy who was carrying out two big bags of half-dried leaf upon our arrival! He was a Bi Luo Chun producer himself who was procuring tea leaves that he would finish drying in his own factory. This was the most poignant lesson that this early spring crop truly is in high demand!

The photo above is of the dad demonstrating a final act of courtesy by tying off the bulk bags of freshly dried leaves — leaving an opening at the top to allow the still-warm leaves to breathe and fully cool down on our journey home. We are thinking that we will resort to an old school telephone call to their landline in the future to contact the mom or dad for future procurements. After all, we are undeniably closer in age, and apparently see more eye-to-eye!