Given that some of the very finest tea producing regions are seasonal so that the tea plant only grows in warmer temperatures, Spring is a very exciting time in tea production. Indeed, the plucking season in India, China, Japan and even Europe – including England’s Tregothnan tea gardens (pictured) – run from March through to November.
Following harvesting and processing, the very first of the new season’s tea leaves begin to make their way across the world from Asia in time for early summer. As tea lovers first and foremost, this is our favourite time of the year – while we enjoy creating different unique and original blends of tea, the extraordinary diversity of tea flavour profiles developed simply from the way it is grown, where it is grown (terroir) and how it is processed still blows our minds!
So whether it’s the first flush (harvest) from India or 'pre-qingming' from China, you can be assured that these leaves, the first plucked of the season, which have grown slowly over the winter and have been subject to some degree of stress, are likely to be the most interesting and flavoursome – the price tags some command would at least suggest so!
The same plant may be harvested up to thirty times during the plucking season and tea produced from the same plant, but at a different time of the year, will produce very different flavour outcomes due to changes in the environmental conditions. A quick taste of a Darjeeling First Flush and an Autumnal Flush makes this immediately apparent.
Check out our First Flush Darjeeling from Glenburn Estate today and experience the daily pleasure of exceptional tea!