The most prized and flavorful green and yellow teas are plucked in the spring. In China, Japan and Korea, the spring tea harvest kicks off the beginning of the new season of tea production. These teas are plucked for only a short season of about 6 weeks, while the leaf is small and tender and before the summer green tea harvest begins in June. Those of us living in the West do not often have the chance to experience these delicate beauties. So when we have the opportunity to procure top grades of these spring teas, we do not hesitate. We have a very limited quantity of these choice selections. Please don’t miss out on the experience of tasting teas this fresh and  young.

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Sichuan Province is famous in China for splendid, handmade early spring teas. The mountainous regions that nourish these tea gardens are located in the lofty regions of Mengding Mt. and Mt. Emei. These revered mountains provide remote, coddled environments that have the perfect growing conditions for tea gardens and tea plants. These two regions have been producing exquisite tea since the Song Dynasty ( 960 -1279 )

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The steep,  mountainous regions of northeast Zhejiang contain an amazing natural wonder - great unbroken stands of giant bamboo forests that cover the mountainsides as far as the eye can see. These majestic plants bend slightly and wave gently in the breezes, creating a graceful rhythm that inspires the locals to call these groves ' a bamboo sea.' It was here that some segments of the movie Crouching Tiger were filmed. Additionally, this environment also produces fragrant, heart-renderingly sweet green tea. These leafy teas are redolent with buttery, sweet flavors that feature a hint of the aroma of emerging bamboo shoots or asparagus.

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In Japan, the freshness of tea is of paramount importance. Japanese tea buyers purchase tea in small quantities so that they can follow along with the tea plucking seasons and purchase tea when it has come into season. Sincha season is the earliest tea plucked in Japan . It is considered a pre-harvest tea, as the  leaf for sincha is plucked for only a matter of days. After  that, the leaf has grown too large to be considered Sincha. Sincha sells out quickly in tea shops in Japan because everyone waits for its arrival in the market, and anticipates the delicious, rich and sweet vegetal flavor that will follow.

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