2023 Spring Harvest #1

We received our first batch of new harvest Chinese teas earlier this week, including our Anhui Yellow, Anhui Wild Foraged Green, Phoenix Honey and Ya Sai Old Grove, and Tieguanyin Medium Roast Organic. They are all available in the shop for tea service and purchase as well as online.

We’re especially excited about having our Anhui Wild Foraged Green back after being out of stock since last summer. This is the second year we've brought it back to Teance after a two-year pause, and last year it was only available for a few months before going out of stock in September.

The needle-like leaves of our Anhui Wild Foraged Green consist of buds that are foraged from wild, indigenous bushes in the remote mountains of Jin Zai金寨 in Anhui. Our founder Winnie had been looking for a yellow tea and found Mr. Dai, who now sources our Anhui Yellow and Anhui Wild Foraged Green. This region has many old tea bushes that have long outlived the humans who have lived there, and Mr. Dai said that his village was able to survive the Japanese invasion because it is so remote and hard to get to. Currently, the village comprises a very small population, and few adults have stayed to continue working with the old, indigenous tea bushes that have long grown in the region. 

Jin Zai金寨 is an old tea region known for its yellow tea, and the people in Mr. Dai’s village have been harvesting and producing yellow tea for many generations. Yellow tea processing is more complicated than green tea, with additional steps that create a more settled, less astringent tea compared to green tea. Mr. Dai has told us that he now harvests and roasts the leaves around Gu Yu 穀雨 "Grain Rain" seasonal node/solar term in late April, which is a little earlier than he used to around Li Xia 立夏 “Beginning of Summer” in early May. Earlier harvesting means smaller leaves which are easier to roast and taste better with lighter mouthfeel. Mr. Dai also shares with us that yellow tea can taste better when left to settle for a few years instead of drunk fresh. 

Our Anhui teas are little gems from a village in China that not only has a long history with tea, but that most of us will never set foot in. Come by the shop to try one or both of them as a refreshing tea for the warmer, summer days! We’d love to hear your thoughts.