Hello tea lovers, the 2023 Spring Lishan tea harvest is underway! A small number of tea factories started picking spring tea on May 9th, and our store manager headed up to Cuiluan, Cuiluan North Line, and Malieba Suspension Bridge to check on the condition of the spring tea.
Cuiluan / Cuiluan North Line: The manager recalls that by May 10th last year, a large portion of this area had already been harvested, but at the same time this year, “only one tea garden is harvesting”—it’s running much slower. Most of the tea leaves are very tender and will still be tender in another week, so the peak harvest is expected to begin in a week. Yield and quality are average; uneven growth caused by drought is severe, and the key to quality remains sufficient irrigation. Overall, it’s a fair 70 points, with a small number of premium tea gardens hitting 80 points.
Malieba / Suspension Bridge Head: Similar to Cuiluan and the North Line, with the same uneven growth issues, though Cuiluan and the North Line feel “slightly” better. Malieba Suspension Bridge Head is further south, so the tea leaves are slightly older (though still tender). Harvesting started on May 9th, and by the 11th, two tea gardens were seen harvesting, with the peak harvest expected to begin on the 15th.
Harvesting in these two areas is about 10 days later than usual. Some tea gardens still have very small buds, and harvesting might not finish until June, which makes us wonder if we’ll miss the solar term. The store manager went to check on the tea on May 11th and sampled the dried tea harvested on the 9th and the tea strip appearance from the 10th. The 9th batch might have been affected by rain the previous two days resulting in poorer quality, but the tea strips from the 10th were quite good. The 11th and 12th are both clear days, and the weather forecast calls for rain on the 13th and 14th. Looking at it this way, the 11th and 12th might be great days to buy, otherwise we’ll have to wait until after the 15th for really good tea to come out.
