🌿 Folk Prescriptions

With warming weather, spring tea from major producing areas such as Sichuan and Guangxi has begun entering the market. Currently, over ten varieties including Biluochun, Cuibai, Zhu Yeqing, Maojian, and Yinhao are available. How should one choose spring tea to avoid harm to health? We interviewed Jiang Heyuan, Deputy Researcher at the Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.
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Early Spring Tea Has Optimal Quality
Jiang Heyuan explained that tea types are categorized by season into spring, summer, and autumn tea. Typically, spring tea refers to tea harvested before late May of the same year; summer tea is harvested from early June to early July; tea harvested after mid-July is classified as autumn tea.
He noted that generally, spring tea surpasses summer and autumn tea. Due to moderate spring temperatures and ample rainfall, coupled with the tea plants’ extended rest period during autumn and winter, their internal nutrient content is rich. Lower spring temperatures favor the synthesis and accumulation of nitrogen-containing compounds, resulting in higher levels of free amino acids and proteins, and lower levels of tea polyphenols. This gives spring tea a fresher taste, stronger aroma, and more pronounced health benefits. Moreover, during spring growth, tea plants rarely suffer from pests or diseases, eliminating the need for pesticides, thus ensuring no pollution. Therefore, especially early spring tea, is often considered the highest quality green tea of the year.
Quality Can Be Judged Before and After Brewing
Each year, many counterfeit or substandard spring teas appear on the market. Jiang Heyuan warns that there are two ways to distinguish genuine spring tea: dry inspection and wet inspection.
Dry inspection involves observing the tea’s appearance, color, and aroma before brewing. Spring tea leaves are typically tightly rolled, plump and thick, often with abundant fine hairs, bright luster, and strong, fresh fragrance. Summer and autumn tea leaves are looser, darker in color, and have a bland aroma, clearly different from spring tea.
Wet inspection means assessing the tea after brewing by smelling the aroma, tasting the flavor, and examining the leaf base. Spring tea sinks quickly when brewed, emits a strong and lasting fragrance, and has a rich, smooth taste. Green tea liquor appears green with a hint of yellow; black tea liquor is bright red with a golden ring. The leaf base is soft and thick, with plenty of normal buds and leaves. In contrast, summer and autumn tea sink slowly, emit weak aroma, and have thin, hard leaf bases.
Wait Before Drinking After Purchase
Jiang Heyuan believes that spring tea is new tea—freshly processed from the first few batches of tender leaves picked in spring. Professor Tang Lingguang from the Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene at Harbin Medical University stated that from a nutritional standpoint, new tea contains high levels of caffeine, active alkaloids, and various aromatic compounds, easily stimulating the nervous system. This may adversely affect individuals with neurasthenia or cardiovascular diseases. Additionally, new tea contains high levels of unoxidized polyphenols and aldehydes, which strongly irritate the gastric mucosa. People with poor gastrointestinal function, especially those with chronic gastrointestinal inflammation, may experience stomach pain, bloating, constipation, and dry mouth after drinking new tea.
Therefore, experts recommend letting purchased spring tea sit for a period, allowing the polyphenols to auto-oxidize and reduce irritation before consumption. Jiang Heyuan also reminds people not to buy overly moist spring tea, as it is difficult to store and prone to mold.