In the world of Tea, the quality of teas is closely related to the weather. With the unpredictable climate changes throughout the year, the teas produced naturally have their unique characteristics. How can we distinguish teas from different seasons? What are the differences between teas from various seasons? Below, let's take a look at the distinct properties of teas across the four seasons.
Spring Tea (harvested from mid-March to early May, referred to as first and second spring for Oolong tea)
The growth season for spring tea spans from December each year to Qingming Festival in the following year. During winter, tea plants enter a dormant state, growing slowly. They start to sprout new buds in the spring. After winter's rest, spring brings ample rainfall and moderate temperatures, which make the buds and leaves of spring tea robust, with vibrant green color, soft texture, fresh taste, and strong aroma. The dry tea has tightly bound twigs, a rich fragrance, and robust buds and stems that occasionally include small fruits about the size of mung beans. When brewed, due to their dense structure, spring teas sink quickly, with lasting aroma and sweet taste. The tea soup is clear and bright, and the leaves at the bottom are soft and thick, with more buds, fine veins, and less pronounced serrated edges.
Summer Tea (harvested from mid-May to late June and from early July to mid-August, commonly known as June White)
The growing season for summer tea is the hottest time of the year. The tea plant's buds and leaves grow rapidly, and the solubles in the tea liquor decrease relatively, making the tea's aroma less intense than that of spring tea and its flavor less fresh and refreshing. Moreover, the bitter components increase. However, because summer tea contains more catechins and Caffeine, it is suitable for producing oolong teas with strong flavor and deep color. In appearance, summer tea has loose, light, and fluffy twigs, long and slender stems, and buds often covered with downy hair, with an aroma that is slightly coarse and old. Due to their light weight, when brewed, the leaves sink slowly, the aroma is hard to enhance, and the flavor is bitter and astringent. The leaves at the bottom are thin and hard, with less prominent tips, and there is a relative increase in unfolded leaves. The veins are coarser, and the serrated edges are clearly visible.
Autumn Tea (harvested from early September to late October, commonly known as White Dew Sprouts)
The quality of autumn tea lies between that of spring and summer teas. After the spring and summer harvests, the components within the tea buds decrease relatively, resulting in more moderate aroma and flavor. The dry tea leaves vary in size, are light, thin, and small, and occasionally contain some tea buds mixed into the twigs, with a plain aroma. When brewed, the tea soup is not as bitter as summer tea but still carries a slight astringency, with a mild flavor. The leaves at the bottom, after unfurling, vary in size, with many unfolded leaves and clearly visible serrated edges.
Winter Tea (harvested from late October to late November, Wuyi Rock Tea does not harvest winter tea, and Oolong Tea rarely does so)
Winter tea and spring tea are the two best seasons for tea production in a year. Just as the richness of spring tea is like the gracefulness of Yang Guifei, the delicate fragrance of winter tea is akin to the lightness of Zhao Feiyan. Winter tea has lighter color and fragrance compared to spring tea but offers a refined aroma and lower bitterness, which is a significant advantage. The appearance of the tea is light green, with more impurities in rough tea and uneven overall color, though this issue can be resolved with refinement. The aroma of the tea tends to be lightly fragrant, and while the flavor is not as rich as spring tea, it is smoother.
