"Tung Blossom 2010"

Issued May 4th 2010, this is the 3rd Tung Blossom Card released exclusively to Taiwan. This however is a first in Starbucks Card designs. As shown, the left side of the Card is curved with petals of the tung flower extending beyond the Card surface. The back also has a tung flower image.

During April and May the hills of northwestern Taiwan appear from a distance as through covered with snow. This “May snow” is in fact the blossoms of the tung tree, which can be found in large quantities in the counties of Taoyuan, Hsinchu, and Miaoli. This festival is a celebration of the beautiful tung-tree blossoms and the rich culture of the Hakka people.

The 2010 Hakka Tung Blossom Festival kicked off on April 3rd and will end May 22nd.

Collectors Note: It's reported that this issue will have a very short run. Released only 2 1/2 weeks before the end the Tung Blossom Festival is probably one reason. In addition, the cost to load this Card is 150nt (or about $5.00), up from previous loading figures of 100nt. It's not known why this change was implemented, but makes the overall cost of obtaining one a bit higher.

More About the Tung Blossom

Around 90% of the Tung trees are actually "wood oil trees", also called "one-thousand-year-old Tung" because of their longevity.

While an individual Tung leaf is shaped like a heart, the five petals of its flower take an asteroid form with light red and yellow pistils. Tung trees come to full blossom in late April and early May, and it is said that its bud will burst completely when the temperature is over 28 degrees Celsius and then swirl down gracefully to the ground. The best hour to observe Tung blossom is in a sunny morning, for its flowers appear shiny white in the sun.

Tung became an economic crop when Japan occupied Taiwan. Its seed oil was used for waterproof coating and its timber for matches, toothpicks and clogs. Hakka children used to collect and sell Tung seeds for money.