Spring tea is the best tea of the year.
After resting and recuperating through the winter, tea trees store a vast amount of energy, enriching their leaves with substances like polyphenols, amino acids, and caffeine. These not only give spring tea a fresher, crisper flavor but also boost its nutritional value.
The finest of all spring teas is Mingqian tea, which is harvested before the Qingming Festival. The next best is Yuqian tea, picked before the Grain Rain festival.
Mingqian tea is a treasure, and Yuqian tea is a top-grade product. The later the harvest, the poorer the tea quality and the lower the price.
Of course, some heavily fermented teas, like black tea, are also harvested in other seasons—summer, autumn, and winter. The quality can vary greatly, and while some high-quality summer or winter teas exist, they absolutely cannot compare to spring tea.
