Compared to the Cuifeng tea area a few days ago, conditions in Cingjing’s Meifeng and Songgang are much more normal. The tea farmers say harvesting will kick off around October 8, with some of the more tender tea gardens starting around the 15th. While there’s a slight drop in yield compared to last year, the decrease is minimal and well within the normal range.
The quality of the winter tea is shaping up to be somewhere between 60 and 85 points. A lot of it comes down to proper tea garden management and whether enough is being invested in irrigation and fertilization. Leaves that end up thin and delicate might suffer from a lack of fertilizer, or insufficient watering that prevents nutrients from breaking down properly so the tea plants can’t absorb them. Naturally, those don’t turn out tasting very good.
This time around, we’ve got our eyes on one tea garden in Meifeng slated for harvest on the 8th, and another in Songgang scheduled for mid-month. The leaves are looking plump and tender. As long as it stays dry during harvest, we could be looking at some phenomenal tea—stay tuned!
