Batch 124 Li Shan Late Winter High Mountain Tea | Eco-Cha Tea Club

March 17, 2026

Batch 124 Li Shan Late Winter High Mountain Tea | Eco-Cha Tea Club

Home Eco-Cha Tea Club Batch 124 Li Shan Late Winter High Mountain Tea | Eco-Cha Tea Club

Sourcing Batch 124 of the Eco-Cha Tea Club

Batch 124 of the Eco-Cha Tea Club is a Li Shan Late Winter High Mountain Tea. It was harvested on January 20, 2026 from a plot of tea at 2000m elevation in Heping District in Taichung, Taiwan. This plot of tea is adjacent to the plot from which our ongoing source of Li Shan High Mountain Oolong Tea is located. In the photo above, we are visiting the source of this tea with our mentor Tony Lin on February 21 to procure our share.

In all our years of sourcing tea in Taiwan, this is the first time we've seen leaves being plucked in the midst of a frost! Tea trees can withstand below freezing temperatures and snow during their dormant phase through the winter months without being harmed. Frost, however, is what tea farmers fear most during a typical growing season, because the tender new leaf buds can be frost bitten, causing them to shrivel and perish.

The leaves that were picked for this batch of tea were less vulnerable to getting frostbite because they had been on the tree for three to four months already. And while they did not mature into full-grown leaves due to the cold weather since winter harvest the previous October, they had grown thick and fibrous — resulting in a crop of leaves that were stunted in their growth cycle by the winter climate.

Since the leaves have already developed a "leathery" texture, the processing methods are adjusted accordingly. The initial solar withering stage is 6-7 times longer than normal, and the indoor withering and the tumbling phases are similarly extended. Basically, extensive effort is taken to make the leaves wilt, which is prerequisite to oxidation. The mature fibrous leaf material can only be coaxed into oxidation to a limited degree, but the composition of the winter leaves is already quite different than any other seasonal produce. So minimally oxidized leaves that have already been conditioned by cold winter climate have a very distinct character.

In the local tea industry, this type of winter leaf stock is referred to as "Golden Oolong" due to the bright yellow, almost phosphorescent color. This batch offers an exceptionally substantial, smooth, and flavorful brew that has a fresh herbal, almost wintergreen quality. This distinctive batch offers a flavor profile that stands on its own, and can be brewed at least six times in a gong fu brewing session.

Li Shan Late Winter Tea Crop covered in frost

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