When are teas harvested? How do the conditions of a tea’s harvest affect its flavor? How soon does a new crop appear on the western market?
Seven Cups Tea Forum » FAQ
Harvesting
(2 posts)-
Posted 1 year ago #
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Tea is harvested from early spring through the early fall in China depending on the tea and the area. There are even the rare winter harvests. Tea is an evergreen plant and can survive some very cold temperatures.
There are a multitude of variables in tea as in wine. The harvest this year will be very early because of an unusually warm winter. That doesn't look good in some areas. Some tea is harvested in the fog, and some tea the best comes from the longest period of direct sunshine between dawn and noon, and some tea the best is the slopes facing east. A couple of years ago there was a very cold winter that took some of the robustness from some black teas, but added to some greens.
The last three years we have had Sichuan tea, the first greens in China, in March. The first harvest was in February this year, but we would get any back until early April because both Zhuping and I will be in China the last part of March. The quanity of good bud tea will be limited this year because it got hot too fast and the tea is growing too fast. It may mean a bumper year for oolongs and black tea.
Austin
AustinPosted 1 year ago #
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