Si Ji Chun Oolong: Taiwan's Four Seasons Spring Everyday Tea

Si Ji Chun (四季春, "Four Seasons Spring") is a Taiwanese oolong cultivar that produces new leaves almost all year round, hence the name. It's grown mostly at low altitude in Nantou County and made into lightly oxidized, rolled oolong. The taste is strongly floral (gardenia, lilac, orchid) with a light, sweet body and little bitterness. It's Taiwan's everyday oolong: cheaper than high mountain tea, very forgiving to brew, and excellent cold-brewed. Brew at 80–90 °C.

Si Ji Chun is easy to dismiss as a cheap filler tea and to expect it to be flat and grassy, yet a fresh bag fills a room with the smell of flowers. It doesn't have the depth or long finish of a good Lishan, but as a daily mug tea it's hard to beat.

What "Four Seasons Spring" means#

Most tea bushes give their best leaves in spring and a few smaller harvests later. Si Ji Chun keeps putting out new shoots from early spring to late autumn, so farmers can pick it many times a year and every harvest tastes a little like spring. That high yield and the easy cultivation are why it's so common and so affordable: it's a tea bush with a strong work ethic.

The cultivar is usually described as a natural hybrid found by a farmer in the Muzha area of Taipei, later propagated widely in Nantou. Today most Si Ji Chun comes from the low-lying fields of Mingjian Township, where it's often harvested by machine.

What it tastes like#

Si Ji Chun vs high mountain oolong#

A simple way to think about it: Si Ji Chun gives you the fragrance, high mountain tea gives you the texture. More in high mountain oolong.

Si Ji Chun vs Jin Xuan#

Both are modern, productive Taiwanese cultivars grown widely at low and mid altitude. Jin Xuan is creamy and buttery (the source of natural milk oolong); Si Ji Chun is floral and perfumed. If you like one, try the other side by side.

How to brew Si Ji Chun#

It's hard to ruin, which makes it a kind tea to learn on: even a long steep rarely turns bitter, though the flavour goes flat. Cold-brewed, it becomes a sweet, flowery summer drink; see cold brew tea.

How to buy good Si Ji Chun#

• Season stated: spring and winter picks have the best aroma.
• Clean floral smell in the bag; a sharp, perfume-like or chemical scent can mean added flavouring.
• Fairly even balls, some stems are normal.
• Honest labelling: Si Ji Chun is sometimes sold as "high mountain oolong." A low price for a "high mountain" tea is often a clue.

Storage#

Like all light oolongs: airtight, dark and cool, in the vacuum pack until opened. The aroma fades within months once opened. See how to store tea.

Myths#

"Si Ji Chun is a place in Taiwan." It's a cultivar name, so don't look for it on a map.

"It's flavoured." The strong floral aroma is natural to the cultivar, though flavoured versions exist.

"Cheap means bad." It's affordable because it yields well, not because it's poorly made.

My honest take#

Si Ji Chun is a good tea for a friend who thinks oolong is "just tea." It's fragrant, cheap and nearly foolproof. Once they love it, an Alishan shows what altitude adds.

The bottom line#

Si Ji Chun (Four Seasons Spring) is a productive Taiwanese cultivar grown at low altitude, mostly in Nantou. It's intensely floral, light and forgiving. Brew it at 80–90 °C or cold-brew it, and drink it fresh. More in my Taiwanese tea guide.