2016 Jingmai Ancient Tree

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Autumn tea is always in debate. The Spring harvest is by far the most sought after. And yet, some tea enthusiasts prefer fall tea because it is sweeter, features less bitterness and astringency than spring tea.

Fortunately, Autumn tea is not just a cheap alternative to Spring tea. This season has unique characteristics such as its fragrance. The two seasons give distinctive traits to the leaves.

This tea has a pleasant texture and is very brewable. It will give you a refreshing feeling in the mouth and throat. It is less pungent than its Spring counterpart and could be a good start for people who want a sweet old-growth tea brew.

Autumn is the end of the road, the tea trees grow fewer and fewer leaves, the latter flushes are the ones we want. We processed these leaves in Early October; it took us two weeks to get our desired quantity. We made only 40kg of this tea. Unlike in Springtime, it is hard to get fresh leaves from the ancient tea gardens in Autumn; the yields are low, and the flushing cycle is lengthened.

We gave a relatively strong kill-green process to the leaves in order to release the best of this tea. A side effect of this choice is the presence of many yellow flakes. We sorted out the largest ones, but there are still some in the cakes. They add sweetness to the tea and tone down the bitterness. The aspect of yellow flakes is not appealing to the Chinese tea drinkers; therefore many tea producers use low wok temperatures in autumn to avoid having yellow leaves. It results in reddened tea which can be more fragrant but features less throat and mouth freshness.