Winter Time Teas
Mountain Stream Teas Teaducation Subscription Service
December, 2025
Stronger vegetals, softer mouthfeel and long lasting floral aftertastes are the name of the game when it comes to winter picked teas. The 2025 winter season for Taiwanese teas was pretty good, and in this box are a few winners. Included this month are the freshest teas we could find! And a special one from winter last year…
What are the teas we will look at this month?
Cold weather thickens the leaves of tea grow in the winter months, impacting the taste and procession styles. Included this month are:
- High Mountain Tieguanyin, 1400m elevation, 25% Oxidization, hand picked in November, 2025, Jianshi, Hsinchu, Tieguanyin
Tasting notes: Sweet vegetal, clear mid mouth, tart stone fruit, smooth floral
- Winter Pear Mountain, 2000m elevation, 25% Oxidization, hand picked in October, 2025, Lishan, Nantou, Qinxin
Tasting notes: rich sweet vegetal, white flower florals
- Phoenix Valley Winter Pick, 1600m elevation, 25% Oxidization, hand picked in October, 2025, Shanlinxi, Nantou, Qinxin
Tasting notes: Sharp and long lasting floral, muddy sweet vegetal
- Alpine Winter, 1300m elevation, 25% Oxidization, hand picked in October, 2025, Chi Lai, Nantou, Qinxin
Tasting notes: Soft, rich sweet/sour tart fruit
- CY Chen’s Winter Phoenix Charcoal Roast, 1000m elevation, 40% oxidization, mid-heavy charcoal roast, hand picked in Winter 2024, Dong Ding, Nantou
Tasting notes: Smooth roast, caramel, sweet fruit
What Makes A Winter Tea?
Picked from late October to mid December, winter time teas in Taiwan are highly sought after for
their stronger flavors. Due to the cold weather, the harvests are often very small and
don’t tend to leave the island. In higher elevations, this season’s teas are known for a stronger upfront vegetal, richer buttery mouthfeel and a higher, longer lasting floral aftertaste. In lower elevations, winter picked teas tend to be softer, full flavored versions of teas that might be too bitter to be produced in the hot summer months. Black teas produced in winter tend to be softer and smoother than teas produced in hotter months. In all elevations, winter oolongs tend to get oxidized a little longer than those picked in warmer weather. (30% vs 20%)
Winter Tea’s stems are also shorter and the leaves are closer together, thicker, harder and tend to open slower giving these teas a much longer brewing power than the other seasons. Some people prefer winter teas to spring picked versions because of the sometimes very different flavors.
What Makes A Year’s Season ‘Good or Bad’?
The weather. The weather answers that question. But what weather exactly? For the winter season, a great year will be dry until about two weeks before harvest. Ideally it rains a lot, stops, and then gets cold and sunny. Last year was terrible weather as it was just too wet. This year was mixed, but much better than last year. The high and mid elevations got some great picks in, but the lower mid elevations got some bad luck with the weather. The Alishan Winter pick was not the best this year, but we are still hoping we can find a good one. We just haven’t yet. What do you think of this year’s winter picked oolongs?
CY Chen’s Charcoal Roast
A modern Master from Dong Ding, Cy Chen’s charcoal roasting skills are some of the best, and we have included last year’s winter picked mid roast. Save it for a cold day if you can, it is a beautiful tea!
The Power Of Terroir
In this month’s box is 4 oolongs of similar oxidization, elevation and processing style. They taste very different and this difference is one of the most fun aspects to the High Mountain Oolong genre. The 4 terroirs this month are:
Chi Lai (‘Alpine’ Teas): Sweet sour fruit aftertaste and clarity are the most common taste profiles of this area.
Pear Mountain: Light, sweet with a smooth, lingering floral aftertaste, these teas are generally considered the best high mountain oolongs due to their high elevation and care in processing.
Shanlinxi: These teas have a sharper floral and ‘muddy mouthfeel’ with a longer than average aftertaste.
Jianshi: A new area for us, we are not too sure how best to describe this one. Sweet vegetal with some of the Shanlinxi thickness is a good start.
The Mystery Tea
This month’s challenge is deciphering terroir and cultivar. The four winter picked oolongs all differ in their distinct taste profile and mouthfeel. Can you tell them apart? The tieguanyin is the easiest to figure out and with careful sipping the others are possible to differentiate as well.
Good luck!
The January Box
The January box will be filled with teas roasted to perfection from all over the island to be enjoyed in the cold weather months. One will be from Tea Master Su San Pian as well. We will find a great selection to share with you!
A Message For 2026
As the ‘turbulent tariff’ 2025 draws to a close my family and I wish that your holiday season is filled with warm cheer and wonderful memories. And that 2026 is an easier year for global shipping. Thanks so much for supporting us this year and we hope that your 2026 is prosperous, full of personal growth and great memories for you and your loved ones!
-Matt Hopkins
Mountain Stream Teas
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