Batch 121 of the Eco-Cha Tea Club is a Li Shan High Mountain Oolong Tea from fall 2025 harvest. The Eco-Cha Tea Club is mostly about finding unusually distinct batches of tea that are not generally available on the market, with the goal of continually offering a different character of tea from month to month. Furthermore, we want to offer Taiwan's renowned specialty teas that are the best of their kind — in the world.  Li Shan High Mountain Oolong Tea is a prime example. Check the Tasting Notes post for a detailed description with video! The farm in the photo above is where our Li Shan tea is produced. It is situated directly above a reservoir at the top of a ridge — receiving both moisture and abundant sunshine.

This second flush batch of tea was harvested in August.  We had frequent afternoon thunderstorms throughout the summer, interspersed with clear nights and sunny mornings. Our spring 2025 batch of Li Shan High Mountain Oolong was a  substantial, full-bodied, balanced, and complex brew. And the summer batch is lighter, brighter, and more floral. This is one example of how climate change has resulted in seasonal harvests becoming more unique, and less consistent. It's all fine quality tea, but less determined by consistent annual seasons, and more determined by individual seasonal growing conditions.

Twenty or thirty years ago, spring and winter harvests were very distinguished in their character and flavor profile. They also were noticeably better quality than the "in between" summer/fall harvests. In the last decade or more, this has changed. Consequently, we have become more and more dedicated to assessing each season on its own, taking into account the weather patterns during the growth period — which we are able to track, since we live here and are in continuous contact with our sources. We are grateful to be able to share our experience of the Taiwan Tea industry from an "on the ground" perspective in order to allow our tea club members to gain a better understanding of this culture from season to season and year to year.

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