Batch 112 of the Eco-Cha Tea Club is a Late Winter Oolong Tea, harvested in mid-December 2024. Check our sourcing blogpost for the background story. This unroasted, lightly yet significantly oxidized Oolong Tea is made from the Four Seasons Spring cultivar that has become popular in Taiwan in the last 30 years or so. It is known for its distinctly floral character, particularly when minimally oxidized — in the fashion of High Mountain Tea in Taiwan. Upon first tasting this batch of tea when it was served to us a couple months ago in the home of our friend from whom we procured it, we recognized the substantial oxidation level. This degree of oxidation gave the brewed tea a substance and body that is not commonly found among Late Winter tea, particularly when made from Four Seasons Spring grown at low elevation. So, it left a lasting and positive impression. We visited the source again weeks later and requested to taste it again to confirm our initial experience. Yeah, it lived up to the first impression.

We appreciated the smooth, balanced mouthfeel combined with pronounced floral and herbal notes, and enough sweetness to have a pastry aroma and delicate hints of fruity flavor notes. Overall, we felt like this is an especially good representative of the character of both Late Winter Tea and of the Four Seasons Spring cultivar. Late Winter Tea, or "Dong Pian", is a once a year minimal yield — and as a result a rare type of tea. 

So let's get right to the tasting video to experience the live tasting with all the anecdotes about this late winter crop of tea that appropriately brings in the first taste of spring in our March 2025 edition of the Eco-Cha Tea Club!