Tea By the Season

In order to better understand how and when to order teas, the following is a description of when teas are harvested, and thus at their freshest. I hope you find the following information useful.

Green teas are the first of the Spring teas. The green tea season officially begins after Qing Ming holiday, which is based on the Chinese Solar Calendar and falls on April 5 each year. Depending on weather and other factors, some greens are available sooner and others later. Green tea leaves are smaller and grow at lower evelations, so they mature sooner than other teas in the Spring.

Wulongs are the second of the Spring teas. The lower elevation Wulongs are harvested at the end of April/beginning of May, while the best Wulongs are harvested at the end of May, often not arriving in stores until the first few days of June. The higher the elevation, the later Spring arrives and the slower the plants grow. The longer it takes an Wulong to grow but not become too thick of leaf, the more valuable it is.

Specialty teas, such as Eastern Beauty, rely on the insects of Summer to fully reach their peak flavors. Thus, Eastern Beauty style teas are harvested at the end of June, beginning of July. Eastern Beauty is a variety of Wulong.

The best Tie Guanyins, known as Iron Buddha in English, are harvested in late August or late October, depending on the palate. While it is available everywhere and is the daily choice for many Chinese, the expensive varieties are rarely worth their asking price. The highest quality of Tie Guanyins are sold at auction, reaching the tens of thousands of dollars per pound.

Teas with flowers are best in the Fall. The flowers are grown, harvested and dried in the Summer months and then combined with the Fall or Winter harvests of tea, depending on the quality. The higher end Wulong flower teas, such as Guihua Wulong, are best in November.

November is the known as the Winter harvest for Wulong. Greens are only valued in the Spring, as the plant grows too rapidly throughout the Summer and Fall to produce the tender shoots it is prized for. Winter harvested Wulongs tend to have a stronger, heavier taste, with less floral scent but more robust earthy taste. While the Spring harvested Wulongs are certainly the most appreciated, many long time drinkers seek the Winter harvest's strong palate, and all Wulong lovers enjoy the freshness of both harvest seasons.

Another November tea is Jin Xuan. Jin Xuan is a Wulong hybrid originally created for its ease of growth. Today, Jin Xuan has its own following of tea lovers, as it tends to have a much more obvious fragrance in the fragrance cups while still tasting light to the palate.

All of the above teas are valued for their freshness and decline in value after 1 year, though they maintain their nose for 2 years and flavor for another if kept vacuum packed. Unfortunately, many of the green teas sold as specialty teas in the United States are older than 1 year, making them worth a fraction of their original cost to the Chinese but still expensive in the West simply for their name.

Pu Er and other aged teas do not fall under a harvest cycle. The older they are, and the better the quality of the original leaf, the more expensive it is. All of the above teas are valued for their freshness and decline in value after 1 year, though they maintain their nose for 2 years and flavor for another if kept vacuum packed. Unfortunately, many of the green teas sold as specialty teas in the United States are older than 1 year, making them worth a fraction of their original cost to the Chinese but still expensive this side of the Pacific simply for their name.