Wenzhou Morning Tea

Morning tea here does not refer to the Cantonese tradition of drinking tea and eating dim sum in the morning (as in Guangzhou). Instead, it refers to tea leaves harvested before the Qingming Festival, sometimes also called early spring plucking. In the Wenzhou area of Zhejiang Province, due to the local soil and climate, tea trees grow relatively quickly, allowing for the first harvest before Qingming.

Wenzhou has a long history of tea cultivation, dating back over 1,600 years. “Wenzhou Morning Tea” has successfully been registered as a geographical indication agricultural product. To further enhance the city’s tea production and processing standards, invigorate traditional flavors, and boost the brand recognition of “Wenzhou Morning Tea,” the city has held an annual Early Tea Festival and selection events for several consecutive years in recent years.

At the Jiulongshan Tea Plantation in Pinghe Township, Wencheng County, thousands of acres of lush green tea fields stretch like rolling waves. These days, 150 tea pickers are busy harvesting, working at full speed. Despite the scorching sun and rising temperatures, their enthusiasm remains undiminished.

“The picking of Gaoshan Wuniu Early Tea started later, only last Monday. Originally, the early tea picking season would last over a month, but this year it’s expected to be shorter,” said Cai Yongyou, chairman of Rixing Famous Tea Development Co., Ltd. After the start of picking, thousands of jin of fresh tea leaves can be harvested daily.

Wencheng’s “Bantianxiang” tea comes from the Jiulongshan Tea Plantation. Time is money, and the earlier the harvest, the more valuable the early tea. Tea buds, one bud with one leaf, and one bud with two leaves just beginning to open are the raw materials for high-grade premium teas, and the price of fresh tea leaves changes daily. Just three days ago, the fresh leaves were one bud with one leaf, each about 1 cm long, priced at over 100 yuan; now they’ve grown to 2 cm, and the price has dropped to just thirty or forty yuan per jin.