Spring Harvest

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Wanted to share this news with you.

Got an email from Jeff Yang of Hunan Provincial Yiqingyuan Tea Industry Co.

Due to droughts in Guizhou, Guangxi, and Yunnan provinces there could be a smaller crop of spring teas from this area. This could have an effect on the quantities and quality of Silver Needle, Dian Hong, and Pu’er teas from Yunnan province. Guangxi and Guizhou are not original sources for famous teas, but may provide lower cost imitations of more well known teas from other locales.

Other more critical tea-producing areas were affected by late frosts in March. Anhui, Fujian, Hubei, Hunan, and Zhejiang provinces may be delayed in their production. Depending on how well the tea was protected from frost, this could affect many more kinds of tea. Some of which include: Anji Bai, Maofeng, Liu An Gua Pian, Silver Needle, Bai Mu Dan, and maybe some spring Tie Guan Yin.

Thanks to Jeff for sharing this Xinhua.net photo of the drought areas:

Tagged as: 2010, China, spring harvest

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Do you know where your tea is right now?

Several spring teas are in the pluckers’ hands as you read this. Others are sitting in withering troughs, or being contorted into their familiar shapes by the hands of master tea makers.

For example, some Long Jing harvests are already under way. Mao feng, bi luo chun, will begin soon, if they haven’t already, along with several Japanese greens. Darjeeling first flush harvest began around the end of February.

Because it’s not just some farmer’s tea. It’s your tea- or at least it’s on its way toward becoming yours. Some tea purveyors bring you into the journey of the leaf. Life in Teacup & Harney have accepted the charge to tell the story of how our teas go from ground to cup. There’s a certain added joy of knowing the people and care that go into each tea we enjoy.

So why not ask your tea vendor about your Spring teas:

Is most of the crop pre-harvest?
Is most of the crop harvested or being processed? (Note, a really savvy vendor may even be able to describe some of the significant processing stages the crop is going through)
Is most of the crop in post-process? (E.g. Packaged and in transport)
In what ways have weather or other conditions affected this season’s crop?

Enjoy the story in your cup.