How are spring tea, summer tea and autumn tea divided?

The division of spring tea, summer tea and autumn tea is mainly determined by the seasonal changes and the intervals of new shoot growth of the tea plant.

Under the climatic conditions of our country, except for a few areas in the South China tea region, in the vast majority of tea-producing areas, the growth of tea plants and the picking and processing of tea leaves are seasonal: in the Jiangbei tea region, the tea picking and processing period runs from early May to late September; in the Jiangnan tea region, from late March to mid-October; and in the Southwest tea region, from late January to early December. Tea regions that belong to the subtropical and temperate zones, including the Jiangbei tea region, the Jiangnan tea region and the Xiyie tea region, are usually divided by picking and processing time into the three seasonal teas: spring, summer and autumn. But the standards for dividing seasonal teas are not consistent. Some divide by solar terms: from Qingming to Xiaoman is spring tea, from Xiaoman to Xiaoshu is summer tea, and from Xiaoshu to Hanlu is autumn tea; some divide by time: tea picked and processed before the end of May is spring tea, tea picked and processed from early June to early July is summer tea, and tea picked and processed after mid-July is autumn tea. In the South China tea region of our country, because it is located in the tropics, the four seasons are not very distinct, and tea leaves can be picked and processed almost all year round; therefore, in addition to the distinction of spring tea, summer tea and autumn tea, there is also a classification by the order of new shoot growth of the tea plant and the earliness or lateness of picking and processing, divided into first-round tea, second-round tea, third-round tea and fourth-round tea.

Because the tea plant is affected by climate, variety and cultivation and management conditions, the picking and processing time of each season's tea varies from year to year. Generally speaking, it is always gradually delayed from south to north, with a north-south difference of 3-4 months. In addition, even within the same tea region, or even the same tea garden, the difference between years can be 5-20 days due to climate, management and other reasons.

Because the tea seasons differ, the growth conditions of the tea plant differ; therefore, even tea leaves picked and processed from the same tea garden in different tea seasons differ considerably in both appearance and internal quality. Taking green tea as an example, because spring temperatures are moderate and rainfall is abundant, and because the tea plant has rested and recuperated over the longer period of the previous autumn and winter and is rich in nutrients, in spring not only are the buds plump and strong, the color green and emerald, the leaf texture soft, and the white down visible, but the content of some effective components related to improving tea quality, especially amino acids and various vitamins, is also relatively rich, making the taste of spring tea fresher and more refreshing, the aroma stronger, and the health benefits more obvious. In addition, during the spring tea period there is generally no damage from diseases and pests, so no pesticides need to be used and the tea leaves are pollution-free; therefore spring tea, especially early spring tea, is often the best-quality green tea of the year. Thus many high-grade famous green teas, such as West Lake Longjing, Dongting Biluochun, Huangshan Maofeng, Lushan Yunwu and so on, all come from the early spring tea period. Summer tea, because its picking and processing coincides with the hot season, although the new shoots of the tea plant grow rapidly, with the saying that "tea grows a night's thickness by Lixia," they easily become old. The content of amino acids and vitamins in the tea leaves decreases markedly, and this use markedly increases the content of anthocyanins, caffeine and tea polyphenols in summer tea, making the taste seem bitter and astringent. The autumn climate lies between spring and summer; in the later period of autumn tea, although the climate is relatively mild, rainfall is often insufficient, which makes the picked and processed tea leaves seem relatively withered and old. In particular, after the tea plant has undergone the harvests of spring tea and summer tea, its internal nutrients are somewhat depleted; therefore, the picked and processed tea leaves appear poor in contained substances. Under such circumstances, not only is the taste of the tea thin, but the aroma is also insufficiently high and the leaf color is rather yellow. The saying "to be tasty, autumn White Dew" actually just means that the tea's "flavor is mild and bland."

For black tea, because temperatures are low and humidity is high during the spring tea period, fermentation is difficult, while during the summer tea period temperatures are relatively high and humidity relatively low, which favors the fermentation and reddening of black tea; in particular, because the weather is hot, the content of tea polyphenols and caffeine in the tea leaves increases markedly, so both the dry tea and the tea liquor appear reddish and the taste is relatively strong. Only because the amino acid content in summer tea decreases, this has a certain effect on forming the fresh and refreshing taste of black tea.