Forever Spring Classic Oolong

Tea Type: Oolong
Origin: Zhushan Township, Nantou, Taiwan
Grower/Producer: Yen Hwai Li (Grower), Fu Chen, Ai Fang (Producers)

Fu Chen and her daughter Ai Fang are 3rd and 4th generation tea masters in Taiwan. Fu Chen's great-grandfather was a teamaker in the Anxi region of Fujian, China - the region famous for Tie Guan Yin oolong. In the period of and leading up to the rise of the communist People's Republic of China, he started growing oolongs in Taiwan to prepare should his family need to leave. The Chen family did end up leaving, and now his family grows and produces high-quality teas in Nantou County.

"Forever Spring" is a reference to the Four Seasons Spring cultivar (四季春, Sì Jì Chūn), so named because it continues to produce fresh tea leaves all year round, as if it is in a perpetual season of springtime. "Classic" is a reference to the slightly more traditional preparation of this tea, in which the mother-daughter tea masters lightly roasted the leaves, rather than leaving them as a bright green oolong.

The dry leaves have the light sweetness of toasted white bread, and as the ceramic heats the leaves, layers of warm peanut butter and chocolate hazelnut spread creep in. The flavor of the tea liquor is that of a light cinnamon, with tangy notes of orange blossom and cardamom.