Spring tea is made from the buds and leaves that sprout in early spring after the tea plant has gone through a long winter dormancy. It impresses people with its unique flavor and rarity. However, why is spring tea considered to be the best quality tea among many seasonal teas? Let’s explore the reasons behind it.

Spring tea is rich in substances
Spring tea originates from the recuperation of tea trees in winter. After a winter of dormancy, the buds and leaves of the tea tree have accumulated rich organic matter, and the temperature is conducive to the synthesis and accumulation of nitrogen-containing compounds. High content of free amino acids, proteins and other nutrients. The moderate temperatures and abundant rainfall in early spring provide ideal conditions for the vigorous growth of tea buds. Therefore, the tea buds in spring are not only plump, but also rich in substances, and their freshness, fullness and coordination have reached extremely high levels.

Spring tea has less pesticide and insect pests
Spring tea leaves are particularly plump and delicious because of their unique overwintering characteristics, and are deeply loved by people. In spring, when temperatures are moderate, pests and diseases are relatively rare, so the use of chemicals for pest control is reduced. This allows spring tea to grow in a natural state, avoiding excessive pollution, and is more in line with people's pursuit of healthy life.

Spring tea looks great and tastes richer
After a winter of dormancy, the chlorophyll content in spring tea is relatively low, which makes the texture of the tea leaves more tender, the buds and leaves more plump, and the inherent energy reserves are richer. Therefore, spring tea has richer taste levels and more mellow taste. At the same time, because spring tea leaves are mostly tender green, it presents a fresh and pleasant visual effect, and its appearance is also outstanding among all types of tea.

The aroma of spring tea is more intense and layered
The aroma of tea is crucial to tea tasting, and the formation of its aroma is inseparable from the rich substances contained in the tea itself. These aroma substances are extremely fragile and sensitive to environmental conditions. Once they are affected by sunlight or high temperature, they are prone to oxidation and volatilization. However, it is the low temperature environment in early spring that provides unique conditions for the production of these aroma substances, so the aroma of spring tea is particularly rich and charming.

In addition to the above reasons, the deliciousness and tenderness of spring tea are also important factors that make people unforgettable. Spring tea contains more amino acids, which give it a delicious and refreshing taste. Everyone who loves tea can hardly resist the temptation of this tender and smooth tea. Over time, they naturally fall in love with spring tea deeply.

Spring tea is not picked as early as possible
The quality of spring tea is not solely determined by its tenderness, which is a widely misunderstood idea. In fact, tea, like other crops, needs to be picked at the right time to ensure that its growth cycle is complete. If the tea buds are picked too early and fail to reach appropriate maturity, the nutrients in them will not be fully accumulated, which will make the tea soup brewed from the tea leaves taste light and lack long-lasting sweetness.

In addition, different types of spring tea have their own unique picking standards. Spring tea does not mean that the younger it is, the better, but it needs just the right degree of maturity to show its most outstanding quality.

Distinguished by early and late picking time
First tea picking refers to the first picking of a limited number of buds and leaves that have reached the picking standard in the tea garden after the beginning of spring. Due to the scarcity of quantity, the selection range of first tea is very small. Therefore, the quality may not necessarily be the best, and there is no need to pursue it blindly.

First spring tea refers to the first large-scale picking at the beginning of the new year. This means that spring tea can be picked over a large area, with a wide picking range, a long picking period, more uniform bud and leaf sizes, and higher quality. For our country's famous teas, the first spring tea represents the highest quality of most teas. However, different types of tea have different picking times. For example, the first spring tea picking time of green tea usually lasts from February to April, and the picking time of tea gardens in different regions also varies.

Mingqian tea is tea picked before the Tomb Sweeping Festival. It has tender buds and leaves and a fresh taste. Because the tea trees are rich in substance after a winter of rest, but the temperature before Tomb Sweeping Festival is low, the number of tea trees sprouting is limited and the growth rate is slow, so the yield that meets the picking standards is very small. Therefore, Mingqian tea is known as "precious as gold."

Yü-chien tea is tea picked before the Grain Rain. It has more waxy layers, a mellower taste, is more resistant to steeping, and is cost-effective. Although Yü-chien tea is not as tender as Mingqian tea, the temperature is higher at this time, the buds and leaves grow rapidly, and the accumulated contents are richer. Therefore, Yü-chien tea often has a fresh and strong taste and is durable to brew.

The two concepts of Mingqian tea and Yü-chien tea are widely used in tea varieties mainly in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. For tea tree varieties in other areas, such as Shandong, Yunnan and other places, this concept is not fully applicable.

Whole buds
In some areas, whole buds are also called single buds, which essentially refer to the latest buds that sprout from the tea tree. These buds originate from the overwintering terminal buds and axillary buds at the top of the tea tree branches. After a period of cold winter dormancy, as the temperature gradually warms up in early spring and the weather becomes warmer, the overwintering buds that were once dormant begin to gradually plump and expand. This process causes the scales covering the buds to split naturally, allowing the tips of the buds with fine white hairs to protrude from the scales, showing their vitality. Its shape is complete and full.

After a long period of waiting and gestation, as the temperature slowly climbs to about 10°C, the vegetative buds of the tea tree begin their growth prologue. At this time, the scales covering the surface of the tea buds unfolded one by one and slowly fell off, revealing their interiors: those new leaves with round heads and shapes that are very different from regular leaves are called "fish leaves".

Spring tea from different tea-producing areas has different release times due to the vastly different growing environments. It does not mean that the earlier the tea is released, the higher its quality will be. Therefore, when tea lovers are looking for spring tea, they must be discerning and identify carefully.

Tea shape
The leaves of spring tea are usually tightly packed and have a plump and thick texture. If you look closely, you will find that many of the tea leaves are covered with fine vellus hairs. In comparison, the leaves of summer tea and autumn tea appear looser and darker in color, lacking their brightness. Their aroma is more peaceful. Compared with the aroma of spring tea, it is less lively and public, showing another kind of tranquility and calmness. Compared with summer tea and autumn tea, there are indeed significant differences between spring tea and summer tea.

Soup color
As tea leaves are stored, some of the pigment components in them gradually undergo subtle changes in decomposition and oxidation, causing the original bright color of the tea leaves to gradually become dull, like dead leaves that have lost their vitality. Especially for old tea, the accumulation of theabrownin makes the color of the tea soup become turbid, showing an unclear yellow-brown color, and it no longer has the fresh and bright color of the past. When spring tea is brewed, the tea leaves will sink quickly, releasing a strong and long-lasting aroma, with a mellow taste and long-lasting aftertaste. Summer tea and autumn tea appear to be slightly different. During brewing, the tea leaves sink relatively slowly, and the aroma is not as strong as spring tea.

Tea aroma
During the storage process of tea, some of the various flavor-affecting substances contained in tea will decompose and gradually volatilize, while others may condense into forms that are difficult to dissolve in water. This results in that no matter what type of tea, the aroma and taste of new tea are usually stronger, fresher and more refreshing, while the taste of old tea is lighter in comparison.

Tea base
After the tea leaves are brewed, the tea base of the new tea shows a unique green with yellow color. This color is like the young leaves in early spring, full of freshness and vitality. In contrast, the tea base of old tea tends to be yellow, lacking the freshness and smoothness.

Although spring tea is of high quality, you should not blindly follow the trend when purchasing. You should carefully identify and pay attention to the launch time of each new tea, so that you can choose the best spring tea.

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