Living in the tea mountains, I’ve been crashing with local tea farmers’ families. We’ve done it all—foraging wild veggies, farming, even helping build their roasting shed. And finally… we picked leaves together and handmade a batch of tea!
Why "pre-Qingming tea" considered the most premium tea in China(and no, it’s not just hype)
Qingming is a date. A date based on Chinese lunar calendar, that means it changes over years based on each year's climate. Within the 15-day-range before Qingming, that's the best time to harvest tea.
But why?
A quick answer is pre-qingming tea contains the most affluent nutrition ans best flavor . And the most Mind-blowing fact:
Tea doesn’t HAVE to taste bitter.
Think of it like a chef needing top-tier ingredients: pre-Qingming leaves are the filet mignon of tea.
Even farmers know: Leaves picked before Qingming Festival (early April) are smooth and sweet. After that? Bitterness creeps in—even in "Grain Rain" season tea.
This year, is pre April 6th.
Our late-night tea adventure
On the Mar. 19th, we spent 13 hours from hand-picking leaves to hand-made Enshi tea to feel the magic.
Here's our bread-down math that night:
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Fresh leaves for Enshi Yulu (using Longjing #43 variety) cost $27 per kg in the market.
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To make 500g of dry tea? You need 2.5-3 KG of fresh leaves (7-8 hours of hand-picking!).
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Hand-processing? 2 people, 5 hours, 9 steps.
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Machine-assisted? Still 3+ hours.
Just the leaves alone cost $81!