As the Cuifeng winter tea season comes to an end, the low-profile DongYanShan tea region follows. This year’s DongYanShan winter tea harvest started around October 22, entering full harvest by the end of October. When I went to check on the growth conditions on the 25th, they were “much better than expected!“
This year’s DongYanShan spring tea was hit hard by drought, but this winter tea is showing a strong rebound. While a few tea gardens haven’t fully recovered from the drought yet, overall “it’s reaching about 90% of DongYanShan’s usual standards.” If I had to pick faults, the yield is just average, and a few tea gardens are dealing with somewhat severe pest issues~
In late September and early October, the temperatures during the Lishan winter tea season weren’t cold enough, so the winter tea’s signature “cool rainbow aroma” didn’t stand out much. The peak harvest in DongYanShan is at the end of October. If the weather conditions hold up well, we might just see a “cool rainbow aroma winter tea” that rivals Lishan in quality.
This season’s DongYanShan tea growth easily scores a solid 75 out of 100, though the final quality will still depend on the weather during harvesting and processing. I plan to make a few more trips between late October and early November. Hoping for good weather with proper temperature swings during the tea season to yield some phenomenal, Lishan-rivaling gems~
By the way, it seems many tea lovers haven’t heard of DongYanShan. Last year’s DongYanShan quality was fantastic, but every time I introduced it to tea enthusiasts, it got turned down. Is DongYanShan tea really that unknown….?🤣🤣
