What are the harvesting times and technical key points for tea in China?

The tea we usually refer to generally means the leaves and buds of the tea plant, which can be eaten, used medicinally, and brewed for drinking, and need to go through harvesting and processing.So when is tea generally harvested? What are the technical key points?

1. Basic information about tea

1. Distribution and production areas of tea

Tea is the leaves and buds of the evergreen shrub tea plant, also called jia, ming, chuan, etc. Through various rough teas or refined teas, reprocessed tea is formed, including scented tea, compressed tea, extracted tea, medicinal health tea, tea foods, tea-containing beverages, etc. Tea is distributed in most areas of China (in China it is mainly produced in areas south of the Yangtze River), most areas of Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka and other regions, but different teas have different places of origin. For example, Hangzhou City in Zhejiang Province is rich in West Lake Longjing, Lu'an in Anhui is rich in Lu'an Guapian, Duyun in Guizhou is rich in Duyun Maojian, and so on.

2. The value of tea

Tea contains relatively high amounts of tea polyphenols, plant alkaloids, amino acids, vitamins, and so on. Regular drinking has effects such as antioxidant, anti-mutation, anti-tumor, lowering blood cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein content, inhibiting blood pressure rise, inhibiting platelet aggregation, antibacterial, and anti-allergic effects. In addition, washing hair with tea water can make the hair black, shiny, and lustrous, and tea water contains no chemicals, so it does no harm to human skin or hair.

2. When is tea generally harvested?

According to the season, tea can be divided into spring tea, summer tea, autumn tea, and winter tea. Harvesting can be done throughout all four seasons of the year, and the harvesting times of the four seasonal teas are respectively:

1. Spring tea harvesting time

The harvesting time of spring tea is from late March of the current year to before mid-May. At this time, spring tea has gone through half a year of rest and recuperation, so its quality is relatively good.

2. Summer tea harvesting time

The harvesting time of summer tea is from early May to early July. At this time, the summer weather is hot, and the new shoots, buds, and leaves of the tea plant grow rapidly, but the taste is relatively bitter and astringent.

3. Autumn tea harvesting time

When autumn tea is harvested, the weather is relatively cool, and the tea aroma is good. The best time is after mid-August.

4. Winter tea harvesting time

After autumn tea harvesting is completed, the temperature gradually drops, so harvesting and making winter tea begins in late October.

3. What are the technical key points of tea harvesting?

Tea harvesting is very crucial for tea, because tea harvesting is highly seasonal and has high technical requirements, so the technical key points are introduced below:

1. Tea should be harvested in a timely manner

Generally, after new shoots sprout, they should be harvested in a timely manner according to the requirements of the type of tea being made for fresh leaves; otherwise, as time passes, the quality of the tea will decline. Generally, famous teas have relatively high requirements for fresh leaves, usually one bud and one leaf or one bud and two leaves just beginning to open. Generally, low mountains are harvested before high mountains, sunny slopes before shady slopes, sandy soil before clay soil, early-sprouting varieties before late-sprouting varieties, and old clumps before new bushes.

2. Tea should be harvested in batches and multiple times

Tea harvesting is carried out according to different actual conditions. Generally, spring tea is harvested once every 2-3d, summer tea once every 3-4d, and autumn tea once every 6-7d. To grasp reasonable batch harvesting of tea, one should depend on the variety, climate, tree age, fertilization and cultivation management conditions, and the requirements for tea-making raw materials.

3. Harvesting of young trees and mature tea trees is different

Young tea trees are mainly cultivated, with harvesting as a supplement. Generally, 3-year-old tea trees are tip-picked at the end of spring tea, summer tea is picked leaving 2-3 leaves, and autumn tea is picked leaving fish leaves; while mature tea trees are mainly harvested, with cultivation as a supplement, harvesting more and leaving less, combining harvesting and cultivation, so as to extend the high-yield years.

In addition, in addition to harvesting, tea trees also need appropriate pruning. Batch harvesting should also be determined according to conditions such as tea tree variety, climate conditions, tree age and tree vigor, and management level.