How to Tell Spring, Summer and Autumn Tea Apart? This Article Teaches You to Distinguish Them with Ease

In winter, the main growing part of the tea plant is the root, and amino acids are synthesized in the root of the tea plant and then transported to the tips. After winter dormancy, the tea plant has stored many nutrients internally; in winter and spring, sunlight is weak and the tea plant grows slowly, which is a main factor in the formation of certain aroma substances in tea. Therefore, spring tea has the advantages of a lustrous and oily color, a rich and fragrant aroma, a thick taste with a sweet aftertaste, and a soft and thick leaf base. In addition, spring tea is generally rather plump, stout and heavy, with more downy hairs, fine and dense leaf veins, and inconspicuous serrations along the leaf margin.

In summer, temperatures are higher, light exposure is strong, and the tea plant grows quickly, which favors the carbon metabolism of the tea leaves and produces a large amount of tea polyphenols with a bitter and astringent taste. Generally, summer tea is suitable for making fermented tea, as it has enough tea polyphenols to be converted into theaflavins, thearubigins and theabrownins. Summer tea generally has a light and broad leaf shape, slender and long tender stems, many opposite leaves, relatively thick leaf veins, and obvious serrations along the leaf margin.

The liquor color and taste of autumn tea fall between those of spring tea and summer tea, with a mild aroma, and the leaf base is soft and often copper-green. The leaves are thin, light and small, with more opposite leaves and obvious serrations along the leaf margin.