First-flush teas are here now

Every season is dedicated to the processing of different teas. One in particular is much anticipated by tea-lovers around the world. Spring is a symbolic time in many teaproducing countries, when nature’s awakening is celebrated. It’s also when the new-season teas are made from the first harvest of the year, with leaves that often have exceptional qualities.

By Laetitia Portois

With the symbolism that surrounds them, in some countries the arrival of the first teas of the year is marked with special celebrations.

In China, the first teas are harvested at the time of Qingming, the festival of pure brightness that celebrates life and honours deceased ancestors. It is also an opportunity to welcome the arrival of spring and the renewal of nature. Qingming takes place on 5 April and marks the start of the tea harvest. The first pluckings are highly anticipated and are called “pure brightness teas”, a designation of quality. Some plantations start picking their leaves early, just before Qingming. These teas are particularly rare and prized. They are known as Pre-Qingming.

In Japan, the first harvest of the year is called Ichibancha. It is very popular due to the quality and purity of its teas. Its symbolic value is twofold because it occurs at the time of the changing season, when nature awakens. This period is of major cultural significance in Japan. People gather to contemplate and celebrate the fleeting nature of life.

The dance of the harvests

These spring celebrations mark the beginning of a harvest season in the world of tea and herald the arrival of the year’s first teas.

Tea is a perennial crop. As Camellia sinensis is a evergreen shrub, its leaves can be picked at different times of the year at intervals of four to fifteen days. However, climatic conditions influence the tea’s growth and the quality of its flavours. The bushes grow quickly in a warm, humid climate and more slowly in lower temperatures (below 15°C). During winter, Camellia sinensis stops growing. During this dormant period, the young shoots have more time to replenish their essential oils than at other times of year. The first crop of the spring is very aromatic and offers exceptional flavours.

In India, the most famous of the spring crops is Darjeeling. The quality of the first leaves of the year depends on the winter weather conditions, which are particularly unpredictable in this part of the world. Depending on the year, the harvests start any time between the last days of February and the third week of March and continue until mid-May. The event is eagerly anticipated by connoisseurs around the world: produced in very limited quantities, these “first-flush” Darjeelings are rare and richly flavoured. In recent years, however, climate change has affected the calendar: winters are shorter and less cold. In the coming years, first-flush Darjeelings will probably be produced by February. Today, Palais des Thés selects its teas at the beginning of March. Our tea sourcers receive hundreds of samples in

Evocative Names

Regardless of the country, the harvest season is often reflected in the name of tea when it affects the quality. In India, the spring harvest is known as the “first flush” (with “second flush” and “third flush”, respectively, for the summer and autumn crops). In China, they call the spring teas Qingming or Pre-Qingming. In Japan, the first plucking is called Ichibancha (literally “first crop”).

40 Times

In Darjeeling, the leaves are harvested from a tea bush on average 40 times a year, but the time between harvests is not the same in the spring as in the monsoon season, when growth accelerates dramatically.

To produce quality tea, you have to pick the leaves delicately, selecting just the bud and the next two leaves.

Tasting samples of first-flush Darjeelings. The decision to buy must be made instantly as the batches are sold to the highest bidder and don’t exceed a few dozen kilos.

Two hours

Once picked, the leaves of the first harvest spoil quickly. In China, a producer like Mr Li must find a buyer for his leaves within two hours of picking.

Paris. Every day they taste the fruit of these distant crops and choose the best pluckings. As the selection of first-flush Darjeelings comes to an end, Nepal’s tea season is in full swing, and then it’s the turn of China in early April. The best-known of these teas are Tai Ping Hou Kui, Huang Shan Mao Feng, Huang Hua Yun Jian, Long Jing, Bi Luo Chun and Bai Mao Hou. In Japan, spring begins later than on the Himalayan slopes and runs leisurely from March to early May. During this time they harvest the leaves used to produce Senchas and Gyokuros. Tencha leaves, used to produce Matcha, are also picked at this time.

The taste of spring

First-flush teas should be enjoyed as soon after harvest as possible. Their characteristic freshness demands immediate tasting in order to appreciate all their qualities. These teas are consumed within eight to ten months of picking. Beyond that, the leaf becomes less supple and the infusion loses its freshness and flavour (unlike traditional tea that can be kept for a year). This fragility gives these teas their unique characteristics. In Darjeeling, the first harvests produce teas with sustained floral notes, like freshly picked flowers. China’s new-season teas have a powerful vegetal note that gives the impression you’re tasting the freshly harvested leaf itself. Japanese Ichibanchas are very delicate, evoking a fresh spring breeze. These early season teas are not alike, but they all share the quality of green growth, of nature’s awakening. •

THE RACE TO BUY THE NEW SEASON TEAS!

The arrival of the first teas of the year is eagerly awaited, and demand often exceeds supply. Almost all tea produced in Japan is consumed in the country. With Ichibanchas, it is not uncommon for farmers to have their teas reserved before they’re even produced. More and more people in China are developing a taste for these rare teas, and domestic demand has grown from almost non-existent to very strong. For Palais des Thés, the challenge of choosing new season teas is speed. For six weeks, our tea sourcers taste dozens of samples sent by the producers we work with. Often, out of a hundred or so teas tasted, we might choose just one. We must then buy the tea as quickly as possible before the batch is snapped up by someone else.

To learn more about spring teas, check out the episode of our podcast, Un thé, un voyage, dedicated to the subject (in French). It’s fresh and delightful, just like the teas themselves!