Due to the influence of climate, varieties and cultivation management conditions, the collection and preparation of tea in each season are inconsistent in the morning and evening. Generally speaking, there is always a gradual delay from south to north, with a difference of 3-4 months between north and south. In addition, even in the same tea area or even the same tea garden, due to climate, management and other reasons, the difference between years can be 5-20 days.
spring tea
Because the growth of tea trees is different in different tea seasons, even the tea leaves collected in the same tea garden in different tea seasons have great differences in appearance and quality. Taking green tea as an example, due to the moderate temperature and abundant rainfall in spring, and the rich nutrients of tea trees after a long rest in autumn and winter of the previous year, in spring, not only the buds are plump, the leaves are green, the leaves are soft and the white hairs are exposed, but also some effective ingredients related to improving the quality of tea, especially amino acids and multivitamins, which make the taste of spring tea more refreshing, the aroma more intense and the health care function more obvious. In addition, there are generally no pests and diseases during spring tea, and there is no need to use pesticides. Tea leaves are pollution-free, so spring tea, especially early spring tea, is often the best quality green tea in a year. Therefore, many famous green teas, such as West Lake Longjing, Quancheng Red, Quancheng Green, Dongting Biluochun, Huangshan Mao Feng, Lushan Wu Yun, etc. , are collected in the early stage of spring tea. Summer tea is harvested in the hot season. Although the new shoots of tea trees grow fast, they are said to be "rich in tea all night in summer", but they are easy to age. The contents of amino acids and vitamins in tea are obviously reduced, and the contents of anthocyanins, caffeine and tea polyphenols in summer tea are obviously increased due to use, thus making the taste bitter. The autumn climate is between spring and summer. In the late autumn tea period, although the climate is mild, the rainfall is often insufficient, which will make the collected tea look old. In particular, tea trees, spring tea and summer tea are harvested and lack of nutrition. Therefore, the content of collected tea leaves is very poor. In this case, not only the tea tastes light, but also the aroma is not high and the leaves are yellow. The so-called "delicious, autumn white dew" is actually the "light taste" of tea.
As far as black tea is concerned, the temperature is low and the humidity is high in spring tea, which makes it difficult to ferment, while the temperature is high and the humidity is low in summer tea, which is beneficial to the red fermentation of black tea, especially in hot weather, which makes the contents of tea polyphenols and caffeine in tea increase obviously. Therefore, both dry tea and tea soup are ruddy and full of flavor. It is only because the amino acid content in tea leaves decreases in summer, which has a certain influence on the fresh and refreshing feeling of black tea. [ 1]
Quality comparison
The quality characteristics of spring tea, summer tea and autumn tea can be described from two aspects.
spring tea
(1) Dry look: It is mainly judged by three factors: color, aroma and shape of dry tea. The quality characteristics of spring tea are green and moist green tea, dark and moist black tea, heavy tea, or more white hairs. Black tea is closely combined with green tea, and pearl tea has round and dense particles and rich aroma.
The quality characteristics of summer tea are dark green tea, ruddy black tea, light and loose tea, wide and long tender stems, loose black tea and green tea strings, loose beads and slightly coarse and old aroma.
Green tea is yellow-green, and black tea is dark red. The leaves are thin and thin, and the aroma is relatively peaceful, which is the symbol of autumn tea.
(2) Wet viewing: it is to evaluate the tea after boiling as a further judgment. Where the tea leaves sink rapidly after brewing, the aroma is rich and lasting, and the taste is mellow; Green tea soup is yellow in color, and black tea soup is colorful in cash; Tea is soft and thick, with many normal buds and leaves, and it is spring tea.
After brewing, the tea leaves sink slowly and the aroma is slightly lower; The taste of green tea is not strong and slightly astringent, the soup is green, and the leaves are mixed with copper-green buds. Black tea tastes strong but not cold, the soup is red and dark, and the leaves are red and bright; Tea leaves are thin and hard, and summer tea is full of leaves.
All brewed tea leaves are low in aroma, plain in taste, with copper-green buds at the bottom and leaves of different sizes, which are autumn tea.