Division of spring tea, summer tea and autumn tea

The division of spring tea, summer tea and autumn tea is mainly based on the seasonal changes and the intermittent growth of tea shoots.

Under the climatic conditions in China, except for a few tea-producing areas in South China, tea tree growth and tea harvesting are seasonal in most tea-producing areas: the tea harvesting period in Jiangbei tea area is from early May to late September, the tea harvest period in Jiangnan tea area is from late March to mid-October, and the tea harvest period in southwest tea area is from late January to early December. Tea areas belonging to subtropical and temperate regions, including Jiangbei tea area, Jiangnan tea area and Xipai tea area, are usually divided into three seasons: spring, summer and autumn according to the harvest time. But the division standard of seasonal tea is not consistent. Some are divided by solar terms: spring tea from Qingming Festival to Lesser Fullness of Grain, summer tea from Lesser Fullness of Grain to Lesser Heat, autumn tea from Lesser Heat to Cold Dew, spring tea before the end of May, summer tea from early June to July, and autumn tea after mid-July. In the tea area of South China, because it is located in the tropics and the four seasons are not distinct, tea is harvested almost all the year round. Therefore, in addition to spring tea, summer tea and autumn tea, tea trees are also divided into first round tea, second round tea, third round tea and four round tea according to the growth order of new shoots of tea trees.

Due to the influence of climate, varieties, and cultivation and management conditions, the collection and production of each season of tea is inconsistent sooner or later. Generally speaking, it is always delayed gradually from south to north, and the difference between the north and the south is up to 3-4 months. In addition, even if it is the same tea area, or even the same tea garden, there can be a difference of 5-20 days between years due to climate, management and other reasons.

Due to the different tea seasons, the growth status of tea trees is different, so even the tea leaves from different tea seasons collected in the same tea garden have great differences in appearance and endoplasm. Take green tea as an example, due to the moderate temperature and abundant rainfall in spring, coupled with the fact that tea trees are rich in nutrients after a long period of recuperation in autumn and winter in the first year, spring is not only fat in buds, green in color, soft in leaf quality, but also rich in some active ingredients related to improving the quality of tea, especially the contents of amino acids and multivitamins, which make the taste of spring tea more fresh. The aroma is stronger and the health effect is more obvious. In addition, during the spring tea period, there is generally no disease and insect harm, there is no need to use pesticides, and the tea is pollution-free, so spring tea, especially the early spring tea, is often the best quality green tea in a year. Therefore, many high-grade green teas, such as Xihu Longjing Tea, Dongting Biluochun, Huangshan Maofeng, Lushan Cloud and so on, have not been available since the early spring tea period. Summer tea, as the harvest coincides with the hot season, although the new shoots of tea trees grow rapidly, there is the saying that "tea to the Beginning of Summer is thick all night", but it is easy to age. The contents of amino acids and vitamins in tea decreased obviously, and the contents of anthocyanin, caffeine and tea polyphenols in summer tea increased significantly, which made the taste appear bitter. Autumn climate is between spring and summer, in the late autumn tea, although the climate is relatively mild, but the rainfall is often insufficient, which will make the collected tea look old. In particular, after the harvest of spring tea and summer tea, the nutrition in the body is deficient, therefore, the collected tea is poor in substance. In this case, not only the taste of tea is weak, but also the aroma is not high, and the leaf color is yellow. The so-called "to be delicious, Autumn White Dew", in fact, it means that the tea is "tasty and light".

For black tea, due to the low temperature, high humidity and difficult fermentation during spring tea, while higher temperature and lower humidity during summer tea, it is beneficial for black tea to ferment red, especially because of the hot weather, the content of tea polyphenols and caffeine in tea increases obviously, therefore, dry tea and tea soup appear ruddy and taste is also strong. However, due to the decrease of amino acid content in summer tea, it has a certain effect on the formation of fresh and refreshing taste of black tea.