Notes of peanut, candied lemon peel, and sugarcane.

Red tea from Taiwan・April 2019・四季紅・Organic

Given the right conditions and expert craftsmanship, the most common tea cultivars can be elevated to great heights.

This tea is crafted from the sijichun cultivar (four seasons spring). Highly adaptive and able to produce through multiple seasons (thus the name), this is a fairly prolific cultivar in Taiwan. More often than not, it's seen in mass produced green oolongs.

From there, this tea departs from the norm. It is grown at 1500m on Lishan. High elevation planting of this cultivar is unusual, as most growers prefer the clear heart cultivar for its thinner, more delicate leaves. At elevation, sijichun leaves grow thick and coarse, making it an ideal candidate for producing a complex red. The elevation gives this tea texture, finish, and complexity.

The tea maker worked with these inputs to craft a tea that is both unexpected and unique in texture, aroma, and taste. For this 2019 crop, we have returned to the original charcoal roasted version, a process that sweetens the tea, and produces a distinct peanut, candied lemon peel, and sugarcane note. 

Brew: 5 grams・150 ml・205° F・1 min

This tea is a pleasure to brew, from dry leaves through final steep. It readily releases aroma and flavor without requiring a long steep time, yet can withstand longer steeping without producing bitterness or astringency. This is all to say that a brew guide - other than the dosage and temperature parameters we list - is probably not necessary.