Most of the teas on the market are spring tea and autumn tea, but do you know the difference between the two? Take a look at the following information about spring and autumn tea, so that you can choose the right tea according to the situation when choosing tea!
How to divide the tea season?
Few tea drinkers think that tea picking seasons are only divided into spring and autumn. In fact, tea can be picked all year round, but the quality and characteristics of the tea produced in each season are slightly different. Generally speaking, the quality of tea leaves in spring and autumn is generally higher, and tea farmers will focus on harvesting tea leaves in these two seasons, creating the illusion that only spring and autumn tea is produced. So before comparing the differences between spring tea and autumn tea, let’s first understand the characteristics of tea produced in four seasons!
(The tea-picking season is not just divided into spring and autumn. Tea can be picked all year round, but the characteristics of the tea produced in each season are slightly different.)
Spring tea: sweet taste and thick tea quality
The harvesting period of spring tea is generally from the Qingming Festival to the Grain Rain period, that is, from March to May. The harvesting time will be slightly adjusted according to each region. Therefore, most spring tea will be released around May or June, depending on the tea making process and the waiting time for annealing.
The quality of tea produced in spring is the most stable throughout the year, and the harvest volume is also the largest. Because the tea tree has absorbed a lot of nutrients after going through the dormant period in winter, the leaves will become plump and soft. A large amount of soluble substances and sugars have accumulated in the leaves, which are rich in gum. Therefore, the tea at this time tastes sweet and bitter. If it is low, the tea quality will be thicker and the taste will be more fragrant.
Summer tea: The tea soup has a strong astringency
There are two harvesting periods for summer tea, the first is around the "Beginning of Summer" (May-June), and the second is between "Small Heat" and "Great Heat" (July-August).
The quality and taste of summer tea harvested in summer are lower than that of spring tea. Due to the higher temperature, there are more bitter substances in the tea leaves and the tea soup has a strong astringency. Unless they are making specific tea products, tea farmers usually rarely pick summer tea.
Autumn tea: fragrant aroma and gentle taste
Autumn tea can also be harvested twice, once during the "beginning of autumn" (August to September) and the other during the "Bailu" period (September to October).
The quality of autumn tea is better than that of summer tea. Although tea picked at the beginning of autumn still has the characteristics of summer tea, its bitterness is much less than that of summer tea. Autumn tea is milder in nature than spring tea. First of all, spring tea has a rich and sweet taste. Autumn tea is characterized by its aroma. In mid-autumn, when the temperature varies greatly, white dew tea will smell like wheat. Coupled with the suitable climate at that time, the quality of the tea produced was almost the same as that of spring tea.
Winter tea: smooth and less astringent
Winter tea is harvested around the beginning of winter (October to November), which is the last harvest period of the year. The harvesting period of winter tea varies in different regions. In high mountain areas of Taiwan, winter tea will be harvested in advance, while in some areas it will not be harvested.
Because the temperature is low in winter and the sunshine time is less, the substances contained in tea and the molecules that cause bitterness are also reduced a lot. Therefore, the aroma of winter tea is rich and delicate, and the taste is not as fragrant as spring and autumn tea, but it is smoother and less astringent.
Spring tea is the best? Understand the differences to choose the right tea
Since spring tea and autumn tea account for a large proportion in the market, many people compare the two. Indeed, the quality of spring tea and autumn tea is relatively close, and the two are certainly comparable. However, it must be emphasized that spring tea is not necessarily the best, and autumn tea is not necessarily worse than spring tea. The key lies in the weather and the type of tea harvested at that time, and whether it suits your taste.
Weather | More rain in spring and stable temperatures in autumn
If spring tea wins because of its good conditions, then autumn tea relies on the stability of the weather. Due to heavy rainfall in spring and sometimes sunny and rainy weather, it is not conducive to processes such as drying and sun-drying. Once it rains, the tea leaves will definitely be affected, and there are uncertainties in making tea. On the other hand, the weather in autumn is relatively stable, and with moderate sunshine and moderate temperature, the success rate of autumn tea will be higher.
However, some people believe that summer will usher in spring tea after it is prepared. High temperatures will affect the taste of spring tea and even cause the tea leaves to deteriorate. On the contrary, autumn tea will be followed by winter, which is convenient for storage without deterioration, so autumn tea is better. Although this is reasonable, it would be unfair to spring tea to judge the quality of spring and autumn tea because of storage problems. After all, how to store depends on people rather than the weather. It must be stored properly. Summer is not a problem for spring tea. Not big.
Tea | Spring tea is good, but autumn tea is more suitable
Although spring tea has the most stable quality within a year, basically spring tea of different tea types can be said to be above standard. But for tea products, the autumn tea of some tea products is the "drama".
Take Tieguanyin, which many people are familiar with, as an example. The best harvesting seasons are spring and autumn. The quality of spring tea is good, but the aroma of autumn tea is high, and the tea taste is stable but not losing quality. The combination of tea taste and tea aroma makes it better. Yanqiu tea is more popular. Across the sea in Taiwan, although the autumn tea produced in its tea area is not bad in quality, it still has traces of summer tea. When it comes to making oolong tea, spring tea is undoubtedly better than autumn tea.
Taste | Spring tea emphasizes the mellow taste, autumn tea emphasizes the aroma
Spring and Autumn tea has always been said to be "spring water and autumn fragrance", which means that spring tea depends on the performance of the water quality of the tea soup, while autumn tea pays attention to the presentation of aroma.
Spring tea contains a lot of nutrients and substances, so the tea is thick, high-layered, rich in taste, sweet and has high brewing resistance. The overall feeling is fuller and the tea nature will be more prominent. Because autumn tea is warmer, it creates a rich aroma that matches autumn. The overall performance is calmer than spring tea, and the entrance feeling is easier to accept. If you usually focus on the taste of tea soup when drinking tea, spring tea will suit your taste. If you like a unique and rich aroma, you will be more receptive to autumn tea.
(The overall feeling of spring tea is fuller, and the nature of the tea will be more prominent. The overall performance of autumn tea is gentler than that of spring tea, and the entrance feeling is easier to accept.)
In addition to discussing the tea season, we should also discuss regions and tea types.
Although high-quality tea products generally come from spring and autumn, and the quality of tea is higher than that of the other two seasons, it must be noted that this is not a rule. Depending on the region or the characteristics of the tea produced, the suitable seasons for picking tea leaves will also change.
Taking Taiwanese tea as an example, spring is the time of year when tea quality is the best, so the harvest volume is the highest. Winter tea leaves are rich in nutrients, so the tea has a rich flavor, with a honey aroma and a sweet aftertaste, and its quality is not inferior to that of spring tea. Therefore, spring and winter are the most suitable seasons for harvesting Taiwanese oolongs.
So the quality of Taiwanese tea in summer and autumn must be bad? Not entirely. Because summer tea has more sunshine time and the leaf buds grow quickly, the tea leaves will contain more substances that cause a bitter taste. Generally, tea is not produced in high mountain tea producing areas. However, the tea cyanine at this time contains a large amount of polyphenols. After fermentation in a high-temperature environment, catechins will be produced, which can be converted into theaxanthin and thearubin required for high-quality black tea. It is suitable for making Oriental Beauty tea, black tea and other heavily fermented tea. of tea products. As for autumn tea, although the harvest season is cooler and the taste is richer and less bitter than summer tea, the tea still has a bit of the taste of summer tea, so it is suitable for making heavily fermented tea.
(Summer tea contains a large amount of polyphenols, which will produce catechins after fermentation in a high-temperature environment. It is suitable for making heavily fermented teas such as Oriental Beauty tea and black tea.)
The above is the difference between spring and autumn tea and some knowledge about the tea season. No matter spring tea or autumn tea, each has its own advantages, and there is no conclusion on which tea season produces the best tea. However, tea is a gift given to us by nature. Only those who know how to taste tea can understand what kind of tea can be made in different seasons, and evaluate tea according to its characteristics and tea products.
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