Spring Tea, Summer Tea, and Guhua Tea: The Three Seasons of Yunnan Pu'er

The same tea tree can be picked several times a year, and the leaves of each season have their own personality. In Yunnan, tea lovers often divide the year into three seasons: spring tea, summer tea, and autumn tea. When choosing pu'er, the season, like the mountain and the tree age, is an important clue to understanding a tea.

Spring Tea: The Year's Opening Act

Winters in southern Yunnan are dry but not cold. After several months of rest, the tea trees put out their first new buds in spring. Spring tea can be further divided into several stages, with timing that varies by the mountain's altitude and that year's weather, roughly:

• First spring (tou chun): About early March to mid-April. Having stored up through the whole winter, the buds are plump and full, and this is the most prized tea.
• Main spring (zheng chun): About mid-April to early May, the period of greatest output.
• Late spring (chun wei): Around mid-May, as the rainy season approaches and spring tea wraps up.

Spring tea makes up about 40–50% of the year's output. Picking also starts at different times in different places: around Menghai it usually begins in early March, Mengku peaks in mid-to-late March, and Fengqing usually starts in late March to early April. The higher the tea garden, the later picking usually begins.

The Flavor of Spring Tea

• A lifted, full aroma with pronounced floral and honey notes;
• A thick liquor with long-lasting huigan (the sweet aftertaste) and mouthwatering salivation;
• Holds up to many infusions, and its changes in storage are the most anticipated.

Summer Tea: Tea in the Rainy Season

From May and June on, Yunnan enters the rainy season. With abundant rain, tea trees grow fast and output increases. Tea picked during this time is often called "rain-water tea" or "summer tea."

Characteristics of summer tea:

• The leaves grow fast, the flavor is relatively light, and the aroma isn't as high as spring tea;
• With little sunshine in the rainy season, sun-drying is harder, so the quality of the maocha depends more on the tea farmer's skill;
• Affordably priced and suited to everyday drinking; it's also often used in blends or as raw material for ripe tea.

Interestingly, one study that calculated a quality index from catechin composition found that summer tea actually scored highest. It's a reminder that no season is absolutely better; it depends on how the tea is used and what flavor you're after.

Guhua Tea: The Fragrance of Autumn

Around the Start of Autumn through White Dew (solar terms in August and September), Yunnan's rice paddies are in flower, and autumn tea picked at this time is called "guhua tea" (rice-flower tea). As the rainy season winds down and the sunshine returns, autumn tea is characterized by:

• A high, lifted, fresh aroma, which some describe as carrying the dryness of autumn;
• A lighter liquor than spring tea, with a delicate mouthfeel;
• Modest output, with prices between spring tea and summer tea.

Tea lovers who love aroma often make a point of collecting some guhua tea.

Does Yunnan Have Winter Tea?

Yes, but very little. Winter tea generally means the last round picked in a year, and by convention anything picked and processed after late October counts; it's more common in the oolong-growing areas of Fujian and Taiwan. In Yunnan, only a small number of warmer tea areas pick a bit more after guhua tea, and some locals call it "di cha" (bottom tea).

Winter tea yields are low, and its aroma is often described as more pronounced than autumn tea's. But most ancient tea gardens stop picking after the autumn tea and let the trees rest until the following spring, so you won't find much pu'er labeled "Yunnan winter tea" on the market. If you come across some, ask about the picking month and origin, and enjoy it as a rare seasonal flavor.

The Three Seasons at a Glance

Reading the Season on the Package

Some teas say "spring tea," "first spring," "early spring," or "autumn tea" on the package. Here's how to read that:

• Stating the season shows the factory is willing to be clear about its raw material, which counts in its favor;
• "First spring" and "ancient-tree spring tea" are scarce and expensive, so ask a few more questions about similar products sold in very large quantities;
• No season on the label doesn't mean it's bad; many blends naturally combine material from different seasons.

Beyond the Season

Season, mountain, tree age, craftsmanship, and storage together shape what a cup of tea is like. The season is one key to understanding a tea. Read it together with Ancient-Tree, Large-Tree, and Terrace Tea: How They Differ and The Three Major Pu'er Growing Regions for a fuller picture. For how to drink tea by the season in Taiwan, read Pu'er Through the Seasons.

The Spring Tea Calendar: Three Regions as Examples

Even on the same mountain, timing differs by altitude and slope direction. That's why the dates of "first spring" differ for every mountain and every year.

Seasons and Craftsmanship

The season affects not only the fresh leaves but also how the tea is made:

• Spring tea: At the tail end of the dry season, with plenty of sun, sun-drying is easy and the maocha comes out clean.
• Summer tea: The rainy season brings many overcast, rainy days, making sun-drying difficult. Tea farmers have to rely on indoor spreading and low-heat assisted drying, the real test of skill.
• Autumn tea: As the rainy season ends and the sun returns, conditions for sun-drying improve again, and the aroma is clear and lifted.

Seasons and Storage

Generally speaking, spring tea has the richest content and is most often stored long-term; guhua tea has a lovely aroma and a lighter liquor, best enjoyed within a few years; summer tea is mostly used for everyday drinking, blends, or ripe tea material. This isn't an absolute rule, but a way of thinking tea lovers often use when choosing and storing tea.

How to Taste the Season

Brew spring tea and autumn tea from the same mountain side by side: the spring tea has a thick liquor and long huigan, while the autumn tea has a higher aroma and a more delicate mouthfeel. Taste them once and you'll remember the difference.

The Season Is Written in the Spent Leaves

You can also guess the season from the spent leaves after brewing: spring tea leaves are thick with plump buds, and the spent leaves are soft and springy; summer tea leaves are a bit thinner with longer internodes and a lighter color; autumn tea leaves are medium, with slimmer buds. This isn't a definitive test, but look a few more times and you'll gradually build your own "sense of season."

A Choice for Beginners

When you're just starting with pu'er, there's no need to chase first-spring ancient-tree tea right away. Start with everyday tea, and once your interest grows, find spring and autumn tea from the same mountain to compare. You'll get much more out of it.

FAQ

Is spring tea always better than autumn tea? Not necessarily. Spring tea has a full flavor and ages well, so it's the most prized; guhua tea has a high, lifted aroma and a delicate mouthfeel, and many people especially love it too.

Why is it called guhua tea? Autumn tea is picked just when Yunnan's rice is flowering, so tea farmers call the autumn tea from this time guhua (rice-flower) tea.

Is "mingqian tea" a pu'er term? "Mingqian" (before Qingming) is a term commonly used for green tea from the Jiangnan region; Yunnan pu'er mostly uses first spring, main spring, and late spring to divide the spring tea period.