Drink Spring Teas at their Best in Spring!
It is a privilege to taste, as I do at this time of year, the freshest spring teas produced just days prior and bursting with flavour. The spring sourcing season for Darjeeling 1st flush and high-quality Chinese green and black teas opens in early to mid-March and fills me with a keen sense of anticipation.
Each year the search begins for that spring’s best teas. This search can take the form of tasting hundreds of Darjeeling teas in one go, looking for one with the complex aromas and juicy texture I crave. Or the search can take me to remote corners of China where a place previously just a name on a map comes to life with the people and surroundings that make a special tea.
Spring teas are the early picked teas, the first small shoots from bushes that have rested over winter, storing up flavour and vigour. The leaves are delicate, the processing is careful and the yields are small, capturing the freshness of the raw material.
As the weather in tea producing regions turns warmer, these teas reflect the onset of spring with renewed growth and a sense of optimism and potential. Here, there is no better accompaniment to a warm and sunny spring afternoon than a tall glass of Dragon Well or a cup of Darjeeling 1st flush in fine bone china. Good at any time of year, but particularly special right now in spring.
