Pre-Qingming tea refers to tea leaves harvested before the Qingming Festival, which suffer less pest damage, featuring tender buds, emerald color, delicate fragrance, mellow taste, and beautiful shape, making it a premium tea. Additionally, due to generally low temperatures before Qingming, limited bud sprouting, and slow growth, the yield meeting picking standards is minimal, hence the saying 'Pre-Qingming tea, precious as gold.'

During the Qingming Festival, returning home to sweep tombs and enjoy spring outings, families gather around the stove. A cup of Pre-Qingming tea washes away spring fatigue, preparing for summer's warmth.

How to brew Pre-Qingming tea?

1. Freshly roasted Pre-Qingming tea should not be drunk immediately. Let it rest for one to two weeks for better flavor. Proper storage not only removes 'fire' taste but also reduces moisture. For example, newly roasted Longjing tea should be stored in a jar with quicklime to dry and remove fire. After about a week, brewing achieves the qualities of 'green color,' 'clear broth,' 'high fragrance,' and 'mellow taste.'

2. Do not use boiling water to brew Pre-Qingming tea. As the leaves are tender, water around 80°C is ideal. The more tender and green the leaves, the lower the water temperature should be, ensuring a bright green broth, fresh taste, and minimal nutrient loss.

3. Glass cups are best for brewing. Pre-Qingming tea demands not only green broth and fresh taste but also aesthetic appeal. Longjing tea should appear 'flat' and 'straight,' while Biluochun should be 'spiral-curled' and 'covered with white hairs.'

—Famous Pre-Qingming Teas—

Pre-Qingming Longjing

A rare and precious top-grade Longjing tea. Pre-Qingming Longjing leaves are translucent green, evenly shaped, and glossy, with a sweet fragrance. When brewed, the buds unfurl, floating beautifully in water, offering a pure and natural experience. The taste is sweet and mellow, with a refreshing aroma.

Huangshan Maofeng

Premium Huangshan Maofeng is harvested around Qingming. The leaves curl slightly like sparrow tongues, green with yellow hints and silver hairs, accompanied by golden fish leaves (known as 'golden flakes'). Brewed, it forms a misty crown, with clear yellowish broth, lively yellow-green leaves, mellow taste, and orchid-like fragrance.

Biluochun

The most prized harvest is between Spring Equinox and Qingming. Biluochun leaves are tightly curled like snails, covered in white hairs, silver-green with hidden jade. Brewed, they slowly unfold, dancing in the water, producing a clear green broth with a cool, sweet, and refreshing taste.

Yunnan Pu'er

Pu'er spring tea is graded as 'Spring Tip,' 'Spring Middle,' and 'Spring End,' with Spring Tip being the finest, equivalent to Pre-Qingming tea in green tea. Spring Tip Pu'er boasts rich aroma, endurance, bright yellow broth, and a mellow, refreshing taste.