Because of the vast territory of China and the different geographical conditions of tea-growing areas, the picking time changes with the seasons. In most cases, picking tea activities occurs intensely in Spring, Summer and Autumn with the exception that some teas can be harvested in Winter. Ancient Chinese learned the fact that the development of either plants or animals has a close connection with season changes based on regular observations in farm activities. In fact, by taking advantaged of the 24 solar system to guide agricultural activity, including tea production, has a long history in China. So, why is the picking time so important for tea?
In our daily life, we can always find that some people, whether regular tea drinkers or tea aficionados, mistakenly think that only the tea picked in spring morning has the best quality. This is more obvious in people who had just learned to drink tea. Here I will like to give you a brief introduction about the common sense of making tea in four seasons.
There is an old saying in China that the best season of the year is spring, and the best time of the day is morning. Although this statement is reasonable in many cases, it is not always so reasonable for making tea.
Picking spring tea
Picking tea in the right season and timing will not only improve the quality of finished tea, but also increase the yield of tea.
Picking-Time Affects Quality And Yields Of Tea
Picking tea leaves in the right season or time will not only improve the quality of tea leaves, but also increase the yields. As is known to all, sunlight is very important to all living things on this planet. For tea, sunshine is the basis of good tea, which has beautiful shapes and delicious tastes.
The development of tea trees is affected by light intensity and light duration, and both also have a certain influence on the quality of tea. For example, when tea plants grow under low-intensity light environment and the chlorophyll, which is especially favored by green tea, of leaves increases largely, while black teas grow under high light intensity and hot weather are high in polyphenols, making the black tea soup deepening in color and strong in taste.
There is an agricultural proverb in China, which says, "tea picked three days earlier is precious like treasure while picking three days later as worthless as weeds". It tells us that tea leaves should be plucked in right time. Only by picking fresh leaves in time can we ensure that good fresh leaves and high-quality final products can be obtained. For tea pickers, the right time and proficiency are equally important. To make the buds of subsequent batches germinate earlier and shorten the interval and boost the yield, the tender buds and leaves should be picked in time.
Certain Teas Require Peculiar Picking Time
Some teas need buds and leaves of a specific size or maturity. It is very important to have a specific time node as a reference. In China, for example, the picking time of some high-quality green teas are always closely related to the solar terms of the lunar calendar. Although tea can be produced all year round, the well-known Longjing tea, for example, is harvested in the spring. Similarly, Jin Jun Mei tea, one of the well-known black teas, is made with spring buds to create a sweet and malted flavor profile.
In China, tea harvesting season starts from March and ends in November. Spring tea is favored by consumers because of its natural sweetness and fresh flavor.But not every kind of tea pursues sweetness and fragrance.
Each kind of tea has its own characteristics, a set of processing procedures and quality evaluation standards, that is to say, each kind of tea has its own harvest time. Next, I will briefly introduce the characteristics of tea picked in each season.
Spring (April - May)
Tea can be harvested throughout the year, and tea buds appear when the temperature rises in late March. Spring tea is harvested from Grain Rain (the sixth solar term, on April 19, 20 or 21) to start of Summer (from mid-late April to early May), accounting for 40-45% of the total output of the whole year.
With the sufficient rainfall and mild temperatures, tea trees grow particularly luxuriantly in spring. The rich nutrition accumulated during hibernation also makes tea shoots and leaves fat, thick and soft. Spring tea leaves are also rich in amino acids, soluble pectin, vitamin C, aromatic oil and other active ingredients related to the quality of tea, which not only makes tea taste mellow and delicious, but also has a good health care function. Therefore, spring tea, especially early spring tea, is the best quality tea in a year and spring is also the most appropriate time for harvesting tea. The output of the first harvest in a year is very small, which also makes the price of early harvest more expensive. In China, many high-quality green teas are picked in spring, such as Longjing Tea, Biluochun Tea and Mengding Tea.
Qing Ming 清明“clear bright”: tea picked before April 4-6
Yu Qian 雨前 “before the rains”: tea picked before April 20
Gu Yu 谷雨 “grain rain”: tea picked before May 5
Li Xia 立夏 “start of summer”: tea picked before May 21
Ming Qian tea and Yu Qian tea have a high reputation in China, but it does not mean that all teas are suitable for picking around Qing Ming or Yu Qian. Some teas are better made with mature leaves. For example, some oolong tea and Pu-erh tea are more suitable for making in summer or autumn. Every kind of tea has its own production standards, and the picking times varies greatly in actual operation. In fact, tea can be produced all year round.
Summer (Early June To Early July)
Summer tea refers to the tea harvested and processed in summer. The new shoots of summer tea grow rapidly, but tend to mature and get old. The contents of amino acids and vitamins in tea decrease, while the contents of anthocyanins, caffeine and tea polyphenols increase significantly, which make tea bitter. Tea harvested in the summer is usually used in mass-produced teabags or flavoring blends. But this does not mean that the quality of tea produced in the summer is not of high quality.
Because of the high content of tea polyphenols and anthocyanins, most tea drinkers don't like summer tea very much. However, both tea polyphenols and anthocyanins have good antioxidant effects and are very good for the body. Fresh leaves in summer are not suitable for making green tea, but suitable for making black tea or other teas because of their internal material changes. With the help of long-time sunshine and hot weather, the content of tea polyphenols in tea increases largely. Because black tea is a completely fermented tea, the substances in summer tea, such as tea polyphenols, are partially or even completely oxidized in the fermentation process, resulting in a decrease in bitter taste and pleasant aroma. Therefore, the black tea produced in summer is slightly sweet and full of flavor.
Picking summer tea
Autumn (August - October)
Although autumn tea has received less attention as spring tea, it is still very popular in many tea-growing areas in China, and many tea lovers like its soft taste.
Autumn tea, as the name implies, is tea picked in autumn. There is little precipitation in autumn and the climate is dry. In the process of tea growth, picking and production, the aroma of tea can be maintained to the maximum extent. Autumn tea made in cold and dry weather has a better fragrance. After tea tree growth and picking in spring and summer, the nutrient content of tea leaves and buds is relatively reduced, and the tea polyphenols content in autumn tea is between that in spring tea and summer tea. Some oolong, white and Pu 'er teas are suitable for making in autumn.
Picking tea in autumn
Winter tea (After October)
Winter tea does not have to be made in the winter. The last batch of tea picked in the year is traditionally called Winter Tea.Tea picked after Frost's Descent (or in late October) can generally be called winter tea.
Winter tea is commonly known as "冬片(winter piece)", also known as "雪片(snow piece)". Oolong tea is the most common form of winter tea.They are mainly produced in Fujian, Guangdong, Taiwan and other places, with good quality, but little output. The common types of winter tea include Fenghuang Dancong, Wuyi rock tea, Taiwan Gao Shan oolong tea, and so on. All these teas features strong fragrance ( known as "cold fragrance") and sweet taste.
Tea plants in winter
Because of the cold weather, the output of winter tea is small, but the quality is good, so winter tea is precious. But overall, the quality of winter tea is relatively poor compared with the best spring tea. The most prominent feature of winter tea is its high aroma (known as "cold fragrance"), which is even better than autumn tea, which is known for its outstanding aroma. In general, tea can be harvested all year round. Each season's tea has its own characteristics. You can choose your favorite tea according to your preference.
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