铁观音春茶

春茶究竟是个什么概念？

“春茶”一词最早见于唐代诗人的作品《冰柱》中，诗中云：“满瓯泛泛烹春茶”。

春茶、夏茶、秋茶的界定，主要依据季节变换和茶树新梢生长的间歇而定的。一般来说，春茶茶季概念是指3月至5月上旬，分为社前茶、明前茶或火前茶、雨前茶。

如今，随着科技的发展，早熟品种和早发技术的成熟，目前也出现了早春茶的提法。每年1月起，海南及贵州极少数的地区会有少量新茶上市。从立春节气后，大体可算为中国春茶季的开始，延续到5月上旬甚至下旬，这一段时间采摘的茶鲜叶制成的茶均为“春茶”。

“儿大诗书女丝麻，公但读书煮春茶”，这是宋代文学家黄庭坚的诗句，古人推崇春茶，将春茶看作生活，看作日常，看作幸福。

春茶的魅力到底在哪里？

立春之后，大地复苏，万物生长。神州之南，采茶人已经开始采摘今春第一轮新绿，春茶的魅力世人皆知，有道是“一两春茶一两金”， 从古至今，春茶为什么能引得人们如痴如醉？春茶的魅力到底何在？

一片茶叶就像一个复杂的化学工厂，其中包含的化学成分多达500余种，而要评价一片茶叶的滋味，我们只要看两种最重要的物质：氨基酸和茶多酚。氨基酸的比重越高，茶味越鲜甜，而茶多酚的比重越高，则苦涩味越重。

由于春季气温回升，雨量适中，加上茶树经过漫长冬季的休养生息，体内蓄积了很多养分，氨基酸和维生素含量都很高，使得茶多了股特殊香气。茶多酚呢？是茶树代谢的产物，早春时节气温较低、阳光较弱，茶树代谢缓慢，故茶多酚含量偏低。这一高一低，成就了春茶的黄金酚氨比例，也形成了春茶的鲜爽滋味。再加之春季少病虫害，不会因使用农药而污染茶叶，因此春茶是一年中品质最佳的。

为什么追春茶是永恒的盛宴？

追春茶是所有爱茶人一年一度的盛宴，也是经久不衰的市场热点，从古至今，茶人们乐此不疲。

1.古人是怎么追春茶的？

唐代中期规定进献的首批贡茶必须在每年清明皇室祭祖前贡到，可见唐代已有喝春茶。

明，文征明，《品茶图》

宋朝痴迷于追春茶的文人很多，梅尧臣写过“自从陆羽生人间，人间相学事春茶”；黄庭坚有言“公但读书煮春茶”；郑天锡也曾留下“西江一水活春茶，寒谷青灯夜拨花”之吟咏。北宋文人曾巩就曾表示，春茶极为抢手，京城的人们都以得到春茶而感荣幸。

南宋，刘松年，《碾茶图》

至清朝，乾隆皇帝下江南观看龙井茶采制时，作诗《观采茶作歌》道：“火前嫩、火后老，惟有骑火品最好”。可见他认为“清明”前一日采制的龙井茶品质最好，过早采制太嫩，过迟采制太老，把握好恰当的采摘时机尤为重要。春茶，从古至今，都代表着茶的最高品质。

清，朱珏，德星图轴

2.中国春茶地图

从海南五指山下，最早冬至就能采摘的白沙绿茶，到黄海之滨，沐浴在北国风光中的日照绿茶，春色随着纬度层层递进，春茶也向更北处点染江山，其中尤以北纬30度所产的春茶为最佳。

在这条“黄金产茶带”上，浙江的西湖龙井、江苏的洞庭碧螺春、安徽的六安瓜片、福建的福鼎白茶、河南的信阳毛尖、四川的峨眉雪芽、湖南的安化黑茶、云南的普洱等，相继进入了春季采茶期，雀舌、仙毫、毛尖、瓜片、雪芽、紫笋、银针……纷纷惊艳登场，散发出春天的生机和诗意。

中国春茶地图

3.高山春茶才是好茶

古往今来，我国的历代贡茶、传统名茶，以及当代新创制的名茶，大多出自高山。“高山云雾出好茶”，研究表明，茶叶中的多酚类和儿茶素含量随海拔升高而减少，而氨基酸（如茶氨酸）则随着海拔的升高而增加。我国主要高山名茶大约分布在海拔400-1000米高度，生长在山区和昼夜温差大的茶区，往往茶叶的品质较好。

所以，我国的许多名茶，以山名加云雾命名的特别多，如江西的庐山云雾茶，浙江的华顶云雾茶，湖北的熊洞云雾茶，安徽的高峰云雾茶，江苏的花果山云雾茶，湖南的南岳云雾茶等。再比如生长在著名风景区的茶叶，黄山毛峰、峨眉雪芽、西湖龙井、武夷山大红袍、太姥山白茶、厦门后花园的安溪铁观音等。

其实，高山之所以出好茶，是优越的茶树生态环境造就的。

例如，峨眉山高山林间茶——峨眉雪芽就来自中国四大世界自然与文化双遗地之一，北纬30°峨眉山双遗地境内海拔800-1500米的峨眉高山茶核心产区，被联合国专家称为世界上同纬度生物、植被保护好的地区，自古就盛产真正的高山好茶，是中国出产优质绿茶的核心地带，也是世界公认的黄金产茶带。

峨眉雪芽茶高山生态茶园位于北纬30度，分布在峨眉山双遗地景区境内海拔800-1500米之间的群山幽谷中，这个区域，拥有独特的多雾天气，日照时间短，终日云雾弥漫，一年323.4天都云雾笼罩，雪霁160天 雪淞160天 雨凇180天，一年不足950个小时的日照，年降水量达1200-1800毫米的充沛雨量，80%以上的空气相对湿度，是世界一流的茶树生长环境。

峨眉雪芽高山春茶经过盛夏、秋冬季，近8个月的休养生息，营养积累，养分充足，在骤热骤冷的气温作用下，新生茶芽且合且闭，峨眉雪芽内含物质变得尤为丰富，全芽饱满，根根直立，氨基酸和茶多酚达到黄金比例，高山春茶的鲜爽甘甜令人难以忘怀。

4.追春茶的正确时间

在市场上还有一种偏向，认为春茶“以早为喝”、“春茶越早越好”甚至逐渐变成一个被热炒的认知概念，然而这个概念却并非正确。

首先，每年的名优茶的采摘时间不一样。以绿茶为例，2月底，重庆永川开始采摘当年第一批春茶，3月上旬，四川峨眉山的峨眉雪芽、蒙顶山的蒙顶黄芽和贵州的都匀毛尖开始采摘。3月下旬，苏州的碧螺春，浙江的龙井、安吉白茶也悉数开始采摘。而到了3月底，就是安徽的黄山毛峰、江西的狗牯脑、湖南的古丈毛尖、湖北的恩施玉露等名优绿茶的采摘日子。等到了4月，则是纬度较高的山东崂山绿茶、河南信阳毛尖开始采摘。

其次，不同品种的茶树生长发育和春茶开采期时间的先后大有不同，按照茶树品种，有特早生种、早生种、中生种、晚生种之分。例如，特早生种是越冬芽生长发育和春茶开采特早的品种，其中有一款“乌牛早”，每逢少量新茶上市之时，就是假茶纷至沓来之日，用“乌牛早”冒充“西湖龙井”的事件就屡禁不止。

此外，高山春茶上市时间也相对其他春茶上市时间稍晚，主要是因为海拔较高，气温比较低，其茶树萌芽时间大大晚于平地或偏南方地区茶园，即使是惊蛰后也无显著萌动迹象。此外，因茶树品种生育特点的不同，相同海拔的不同品种茶园其开园时间也有较大差异，如老川茶发芽时间明显晚于其他茶树品种。

What is the concept of spring tea?

The term "spring tea" was first seen in the Tang Dynasty poet's work "Icicle".

The definition of spring tea, summer tea and autumn tea is mainly based on the change of seasons and the interval between the growth of new shoots of tea trees. Generally speaking, the concept of spring tea season refers to the period from March to early May, which is divided into Sheqian tea, Mingqian tea or Huoqian tea and Yuqian tea.

Today, with the development of science and technology, the maturity of early-maturing varieties and early-growing technology, the formulation of early spring tea has also appeared. From January every year, a small number of new teas will be launched in a very small number of areas in Hainan and Guizhou. From the beginning of the Spring Festival, it can be generally regarded as the beginning of the Chinese spring tea season, which lasts until the first ten days of May or even the last ten days of May.

"My son is a great poet, a girl, and a girl, and a man who reads and cooks spring tea." This is a poem written by Huang Tingjian, a writer in the Song Dynasty. The ancients respected spring tea and regarded it as life, daily life, and happiness.

What is the charm of spring tea?

After the beginning of spring, the earth recovers and all things grow. In the south of Shenzhou, tea pickers have already started picking the first round of new green this spring. The charm of spring tea is well known to the world. There is a saying that "one or two spring teas are one or two gold". From ancient times to the present, why spring tea can attract people like crazy drunk? What is the charm of spring tea?

A piece of tea is like a complex chemical factory, which contains more than 500 chemical components, and to evaluate the taste of a piece of tea, we only need to look at the two most important substances: amino acids and tea polyphenols. The higher the proportion of amino acids, the fresher and sweeter the tea taste, while the higher the proportion of tea polyphenols, the more bitter and astringent taste.

As the temperature rises in spring, the rainfall is moderate, and the tea tree has accumulated a lot of nutrients in the body after a long winter of recuperation, and the amino acid and vitamin content are very high, which makes the tea have a special aroma. What about tea polyphenols? It is the product of tea tree metabolism. In early spring, the temperature is low, the sunlight is weak, and the tea tree metabolism is slow, so the content of tea polyphenols is low. This high and one low result in the golden ratio of phenol and ammonia in spring tea, and also form the fresh and refreshing taste of spring tea. In addition, there are fewer diseases and insect pests in spring, and the use of pesticides will not contaminate tea leaves, so spring tea is the best quality of the year.

Why is chasing spring tea an eternal feast?

Chasing spring tea is an annual feast for all tea lovers, and it is also an enduring market hotspot. Since ancient times, tea people have been enjoying it.

1. How did the ancients pursue spring tea?

In the mid-Tang Dynasty, it was stipulated that the first batch of tribute tea should be donated before the ancestor worship of the Qingming royal family every year. It can be seen that spring tea was already drunk in the Tang Dynasty.

Ming, Wen Zhengming, "Painting Tea"

There were many literati in the Song Dynasty who were obsessed with chasing spring tea. Mei Yaochen wrote, "Since Lu Yu was born in the world, the world has learned and practiced spring tea"; Huang Tingjian said, "The public can read and cook spring tea"; The chant of spring tea, flowers in the cold valley and green lanterns at night". Zeng Gong, a scholar of the Northern Song Dynasty, once said that spring tea is extremely popular, and people in the capital are honored to receive spring tea.

Southern Song Dynasty, Liu Songnian, "Rolling Tea"

In the Qing Dynasty, when Emperor Qianlong went to the south of the Yangtze River to watch the picking of Longjing tea, he wrote the poem "Watching Tea Picking and Songs", saying: "You are tender before the fire and old after the fire. Only riding on fire is the best." It can be seen that he believes that the quality of Longjing tea picked the day before "Qingming" is the best. It is too tender when picked too early, and too old when picked too late. It is particularly important to grasp the right picking time. Spring tea, from ancient times to the present, represents the highest quality of tea.

Qing, Zhu Jue, German Star Chart Axis

2. Map of Chinese Spring Tea

From the foot of the Wuzhi Mountain in Hainan, Baisha green tea, which can be picked as early as the winter solstice, to the Rizhao green tea bathed in the scenery of the northern country on the coast of the Yellow Sea, the spring color progresses with the latitude, and the spring tea also dyes the rivers and mountains further north. Spring tea produced at 30 degrees north latitude is the best.

On this "golden tea belt", West Lake Longjing in Zhejiang, Dongting Biluochun in Jiangsu, Lu'an Guapian in Anhui, Fuding white tea in Fujian, Xinyang Maojian in Henan, Emei Xueya in Sichuan, and Anhua dark tea in Hunan , Pu'er in Yunnan, etc., have entered the spring tea picking period one after another, with sparrow tongues, immortal hairs, maojian, melon slices, snow buds, purple bamboo shoots, silver needles, etc., all of them are stunning, exuding the vitality and poetry of spring.

Chinese Spring Tea Map

3. Alpine spring tea is good tea

Throughout the ages, most of my country's tribute teas, traditional famous teas, and contemporary famous teas have come from high mountains. "Alpine clouds make good tea", research shows that the content of polyphenols and catechins in tea decreases with the increase of altitude, while amino acids (such as theanine) increase with the increase of altitude. The main alpine teas in my country are distributed at an altitude of 400-1000 meters above sea level. They grow in mountainous areas and in tea areas with a large temperature difference between day and night. The quality of the tea is often better.

Therefore, many famous teas in my country are named after the mountain and cloud, such as Lushan Yunwu Tea in Jiangxi, Huading Yunwu Tea in Zhejiang, Xiongdong Yunwu Tea in Hubei, Gaofeng Yunwu Tea in Anhui, and Huaguoshan Yunwu Tea in Jiangsu Tea, Nanyue Yunwu Tea from Hunan, etc. Another example is the tea grown in famous scenic spots, such as Huangshan Maofeng, Emei Xueya, West Lake Longjing, Wuyi Mountain Dahongpao, Taimu Mountain white tea, Anxi Tieguanyin in Xiamen's back garden, etc.

In fact, the reason why the high mountains produce good tea is the superior ecological environment of tea trees.

For example, Emei Mountain Tea - Emei Xueya comes from one of the four world natural and cultural heritage sites in China. The core production area of Emei Mountain Tea, which is 800-1500 meters above sea level in the Emei Mountain Double Heritage Site at 30°N latitude, is recognized by the United Nations. Experts call it an area with good biological and vegetation protection at the same latitude in the world, which has been rich in real high-mountain tea since ancient times.

Emei Xueya Tea Alpine Ecological Tea Garden is located at 30 degrees north latitude. It is distributed in the mountains and valleys between 800 and 1500 meters above sea level in the Emei Mountain Double Heritage Scenic Area. This area has a unique foggy weather, with short sunshine hours and clouds all day long. 323.4 days of the year are covered with clouds and fog, 160 days of snow, 160 days of snow, 180 days of rain, less than 950 hours of sunshine a year, abundant rainfall with an annual precipitation of 1200-1800 mm, and a relative humidity of more than 80%. It is a world-class tea tree growing environment.

Emei Xueya alpine spring tea has been recuperating for nearly 8 months in midsummer, autumn and winter, with nutrient accumulation and sufficient nutrients. Under the action of sudden heat and cold temperature, the new tea buds are closed and closed, and the substances contained in Emei snow buds become Especially rich, full of whole buds, erect roots, amino acids and tea polyphenols reach a golden ratio, the freshness and sweetness of alpine spring tea is unforgettable.

4. The right time for chasing spring tea

There is also a tendency in the market to believe that spring tea is "drinking early" and "the earlier the spring tea is, the better" and has even gradually become a popular cognitive concept. However, this concept is not correct.

First of all, the picking time of famous tea is different every year. Taking green tea as an example, at the end of February, Chongqing Yongchuan began to pick the first batch of spring tea of the year. In early March, Emei Xueya from Emei Mountain in Sichuan, Mengding Huangya from Mengding Mountain and Duyun Maojian in Guizhou began to pick. In late March, Biluochun in Suzhou, Longjing and Anji white tea in Zhejiang all began to pick. By the end of March, it is the picking day of famous green teas such as Huangshan Maofeng in Anhui, Gougunao in Jiangxi, Guzhang Maojian in Hunan, and Enshi Yulu in Hubei. In April, green tea from Laoshan Mountain in Shandong and Maojian in Xinyang, Henan start to be picked.

Secondly, the growth and development of different varieties of tea trees and the timing of the spring tea mining period are quite different. For example, the extra-early varieties are those with the growth and development of overwintering buds and the early spring tea mining. One of them is "Wuniuzao". Whenever a small amount of new tea comes on the market, it is the day when fake teas come flooding in and use "Wuniuzao" as the name. The "West Lake Longjing" incident has been repeatedly banned.

In addition, the alpine spring tea is also listed a little later than other spring teas, mainly because the altitude is higher and the temperature is relatively low. sign. In addition, due to the different growth characteristics of tea varieties, the opening times of different varieties of tea gardens at the same altitude are also quite different. For example, the germination time of Laochuan tea is significantly later than that of other tea varieties.