Batch 112 of the Eco-Cha Tea Club is a Late Winter Oolong Tea from Songboling, Nantou County, Taiwan. The name given to tea that is harvested at this time of year in Mandarin is Dong Pian (冬片), which translates as "winter leaf" and it refers to the bumper crop following winter harvest. Winter crops are harvested from mid-October at highest elevation through November at lower elevation. And some farmers at low to mid-elevation will schedule their growing season to harvest their winter crop a bit early. This allows time for the new leaf buds that are still too young to pick at winter harvest to mature enough to be harvested as a late winter, or Dong Pian crop.
Dong Pian Oolong Tea can only be produced at low to mid-elevation, where the climate remains warm enough for the tea trees to continue growing new leaves. Higher elevation tea farms will go dormant by December. Dong Pian is most commonly produced from the Four Seasons Spring cultivar, as it is the most prolific and hardy small leaf tea type that is cultivated on Taiwan. It got its name because it produces new leaves virtually year-round.
Classic Dong Pian Oolong Tea is produced as a very lightly oxidized unroasted Oolong Tea. Consequently, it has a fresh, wintergreen character with a distinctive aromatic profile. Depending on the tea strain and the elevation/climate conditions, the leaves can be stunted in their growth, and tend to be relatively fibrous and less "juicy" than other seasonal produce. This is the actual reason it is processed as such, because the toughened late winter growth is less versatile in terms of processing methods.
The batch that we were inspired to share with the tea club this month happened to have more flexibility than the commonly produced late winter harvests — due to its terroir, timing of harvest, and cultivar. It was grown at low elevation and harvested in mid-December, and made with Four Season Spring Tea leaves. It was still a very minimal yield, and our friend and tea source in Songboling reserved the entire batch from a farmer that he has cooperated with for more than 25 years. Both the farmer and merchant that procured the tea are at the top of their game in terms of experience and expertise.
When we visited our friend in January and he brewed this tea for us to taste, we knew we wanted to share it with the tea club upon first sip. It simply has a substance and character that stands apart from the standard seasonal produce. In a word, authentic Dong Pian is unique as a seasonal crop, and rare — due to the minimal yield. And although this batch of tea was sufficiently oxidized to give it a more balanced profile, it still has that fresh wintergreen profile — with pronounced floral and fresh herbal notes. We feel that it is an ideal batch of Four Seasons Spring to introduce and represent this cultivar, while offering a limited edition late winter harvest.
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