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Tea flushes and seasons - how the time of harvest changes the flavour

The same plantation, the same bush, the same picker, and yet the tea tastes completely different in spring than in summer or autumn. This is no accident, but seasonality, one of the most important and fascinating features of tea. Leaves picked at different times of year, in so-called flushes, give infusions of different character: the spring ones are delicate and fresh, the summer ones fuller and stronger, the autumn ones deeper and earthy. This is why tea connoisseurs hunt for particular harvests, and the spring first flush can be the most prized. Here is a guide to tea seasonality: what flushes are, how the time of harvest changes the composition and flavour of the leaf and why the same plantation gives several different teas over a year.

What a flush is

A flush is simply the harvest of tea at a particular point in the year. The word means the wave of new shoots that the bush sends out in a given season. In seasonal gardens, like those in Darjeeling, the tea bush enters a dormant phase during the cold winter months, and when spring comes and it grows warmer, it awakens and sends out fresh, young leaves. This cycle repeats through the year, giving several successive waves of harvest, that is flushes. Each flush has a different character, because the leaves grow in different weather conditions. This is why tea is often described not only by the name of the plantation but also by which flush it comes from. Understanding that tea is a seasonal plant, giving several different harvests over a year, is the key to all the rest: the differences in flavour between spring, summer and autumn.

First flush, the spring

The first flush, that is the first harvest of the year, is the very first picking of leaves, usually between March and May. It is also called the spring flush. It is exceptional thanks to unique growing conditions: warm days but cool nights slow the growth and let the flavours and aromas concentrate in the leaves. It is the same principle seen with high-altitude cultivation. The spring harvest gives a tea that is fresh, light and delicate, one that downright wakes up the taste buds. The first flush, for example in Darjeeling, gives less oxidised leaves, with green and silver highlights, brewing to a golden colour of a crisp, clean profile with a light astringency. Freshness and delicacy are the signature of the first flush. This is why spring teas are so prized and often the most expensive.

Second flush, the summer

The second flush, that is the second harvest, usually falls in June or July and is sometimes called the summer flush. The growth of the leaves at this time is much faster than in early spring, and these larger, faster-growing leaves give a stronger yet smoother flavour. It is in the second flush that the famous muscatel character is sought, resembling dark, sweet muscatel grapes. The summer tea is fuller, stronger and more substantial than the delicate first flush, and on top of that can be brewed more robustly, without the risk of excessive astringency. This is why many tea lovers value the second flush for its depth and characteristic fruity sweetness. The second flush is the counterweight to the delicate spring: instead of freshness and lightness it gives strength, body and muscatel sweetness. They are two completely different faces of the same plantation.

A table of flushes

Let us gather the main harvests in one place:

The table shows how the same plantation over a year gives several different teas, from a delicate spring to a deep autumn.

The monsoon and autumn flush

After summer come two more harvests. Between the summer and autumn ones, in the season of heavy rains, the monsoon flush is picked, giving a tea that is strong but simpler, often destined for everyday, strong infusions and blends. The leaves grow then fast and abundantly, but without great finesse. The last harvest of the year is the autumnal flush, falling in October and November. By then the leaves have had time to mature more, which gives a deeper colour and a more intense, earthy profile with clear autumnal notes. The autumn tea is substantial and round, though less delicate than the spring one. These two later flushes close the yearly cycle of the plantation. Together with spring and summer they show how wide a range of flavours one bush can give over a single year, depending on the time of harvest.

Why the season changes the flavour

At the heart of all seasonality is how the weather changes the composition of the leaf. In spring, with cool nights and slow growth, the leaf accumulates more aromas and delicate compounds, giving a fresh, nuanced profile. In summer, with heat and fast growth, the leaves grow larger and stronger, giving a fuller flavour. In autumn the more mature leaf gives depth and earthiness. The pace of growth, the temperature and the sunlight in a given season translate directly into how much and what compounds end up in the leaf. It is the same mechanism as in terroir: the conditions of the environment shape the flavour. We cover the influence of place and climate more in tea terroir. Seasonality is terroir spread over time: not only where tea grows, but also when the leaf was picked, decides its character.

Seasonality beyond Darjeeling

Although the concept of the flush is most associated with Darjeeling, seasonality applies to tea all over the world. In Japan the first spring harvest is called shincha or ichibancha and is the most expensive, freshest and most delicate, picked from the second half of April and in May. The second harvest comes later, at the turn of spring and summer. In China and other countries too the spring harvest is the most prized for its delicacy and aroma. Everywhere the rule is the same: the first, spring harvest is the noblest, because it is made from young leaves after the winter dormancy, in favourable, cool conditions. We cover the famous example more in Darjeeling, and the Japanese greens in Japanese green tea. Seasonality is a universal feature of tea, not just of one region.

Why spring is the most prized

The spring harvest is almost everywhere considered the noblest, and not without reason. After a long winter dormancy the bush sends out its first, youngest, most concentrated shoots. Cool nights and slow growth let the leaves accumulate the maximum of aromas and delicate compounds, before the warmer summer speeds up growth and dilutes this potential. The first harvest is also limited in quantity, because the bush is only just awakening, which further raises its value. This combination of the highest quality and a small amount means that spring teas, like the first flush or shincha, can be the most expensive and most sought after. The freshness of the spring harvest is fleeting, which is why connoisseurs hunt for it right after picking. Spring is the peak of the tea year, the moment when the potential of the leaf is greatest.

How to use it

For a tea lover, knowledge of flushes is a practical hint in choosing. More and more often tea descriptions give which flush they come from, and a spring first flush or shincha is a signal of freshness and delicacy. If you are looking for a light, fresh and nuanced tea, reach for the spring harvests. If you prefer strength, body and muscatel depth, choose the second flush. It is worth comparing a first and a second flush from the same plantation, to feel how enormous a difference the time of harvest makes. We cover how tea is made from the leaf more in how tea is made. Over time you will start to link the delicacy or strength of an infusion to the season in which the leaf was picked. It is a higher level of understanding tea, at which flavour tells the story not only of a place but also of a time of year.

The essentials in brief

Let us gather it up. A flush is the harvest of tea at a particular time of year, and the bush gives several successive waves of different character over a year. The first flush, the spring harvest from March to May, gives a fresh, light and delicate tea, the most prized. The second flush, the summer one from June and July, gives a stronger, smoother and muscatel flavour. The monsoon flush gives a strong but simple tea, and the autumnal one a deep and earthy tea. The differences come from the weather: the pace of growth, the temperature and the sunlight in a given season shape the composition of the leaf. Seasonality applies to the whole world of tea, from Darjeeling to Japanese shincha, and the spring harvest is almost everywhere the noblest. Now you know why the same plantation gives several different teas over a year and how the time of harvest changes the flavour.

Note every tea in GustoNote - the kind, the harvest and the character you sense. Over time you will start to link the delicacy or strength of an infusion to the time of harvest, and understand more deeply how seasonality shapes the flavour of tea.