Learn to Buy Tea by Picking Time

Nowadays it is easy to go up to the tea mountains to buy tea, but do you really know how to buy? I think it is worth writing about.

I have summarized three rules:
1. Do not buy the earliest spring tea.
2. Spring tea is supreme.
3. The ugly ones may taste the best.
Let me go through them one by one.

1. Do not buy the earliest spring tea

From my experience, tea that sprouts early in spring usually does so for one of these reasons:

1. It was treated with pesticide or chemical fertilizer (or both);
2. It is plantation tea;
3. It is from young trees;
4. The trees were topped or pruned;
5. The trees were burnt or struck by lightning;
6. The ground around the trees was turned over;
7. It grows at low altitude;
8. It is winter tea (that sprouts late in winter);
9. It lacks shade - in other words, poor ecology.

Note: this has nothing to do with zero-residue lab tests. The plantation teas at the foot of Jingmai Mountain already have spring tea around Spring Festival, yet they may pass EU-standard zero-pesticide tests - because plantation, unshaded growing sprouts very early.

There are many reasons for early sprouting - feel free to add more.
Why avoid buying early? Because the best tea may be picked last.
Many ancient trees deep in the forest are only picked in late April or even May.

2. Spring tea is supreme

Spring tea is the most expensive and, of course, the best.
If cost does not matter, choose spring tea without thinking.
If cost matters, read on - a few principles:

1. Summer-autumn ancient-tree tea can outdo the spring tea of the same plot;
2. A blend of ancient and young trees from the same plot can beat young-tree spring tea;
3. The first flush of summer tea is quite good yet inexpensive - possibly the best value;
4. The last flush of autumn tea is the highest quality of that season;
5. For white tea, choose the first spring flush;
6. For raw pu-erh, choose the first or second spring flush;
7. For black tea, slightly bitter material can be a good choice;
8. For ripe pu-erh, the raw base must be made well first.

3. The ugly ones may taste the best

1. For complete flavor and charm, one-bud-two-leaf is not the best pick;
2. One-bud-three-or-four-leaf gives the largest yield and the most complete flavor;
3. One-bud-four-or-five-leaf looks old, but the leaves may all be tender - like the big bitter greens of Yunnan that look old but eat tender;
4. Tea that looks "ugly" often has more tension and is, to me, the most "beautiful" - and possibly the best-tasting.

4. Summary

1. Never chase the first: the first may not be fresh. The first Longjing to hit the market may come from Guizhou or Sichuan; the first "Laobanzhang ancient tree" may come from a village dozens of kilometers away. If your carefully guarded Laobanzhang sprouted early, there is usually a reason - the flavor may be watery and loose.
2. Do not chase mingqian (pre-Qingming) tea. Besides looking nice, its quality may be questionable.
3. Do not fear being late. Forest ancient trees can never sprout early - the best things are usually worth waiting for.
4. Tea still has to taste good. Nice looks do not guarantee good flavor. Truly great tea has tension in its appearance - a beauty of strength, totally different from the traditional "delicate" and slightly sickly ideal. If you cannot feel the beauty of strength yet, just remember: it has to taste good.