What kind of tea do winter slices belong to? what are the different flavor characteristics between winter tea and tea in each season?

According to the season in Taiwan, it is divided into spring, summer, autumn and winter. It has always been thought that the tea at the beginning of the year should be spring tea, but in some places, there may be rare winter slices after winter tea.

What is a winter film?

Winter slices are not the same as winter tea. Winter slices, also known as winter slices, refer to the buds that sprout after winter tea is harvested.

Generally speaking, the climate will enter the cold winter after the winter tea is harvested, and the tea trees will stop growing until the climate warms up. When the temperature is not low enough to stop the growth of the tea tree, there are some small buds in the tea tree after the winter tea harvest, and those small buds are winter slices!

The distribution range of winter slices tea

Winter slices are more common in the middle and low altitude producing areas, although the high altitude producing areas are relatively cold, there are also very rare winter slices. Due to the less sunshine and the large temperature difference between morning and evening, the growth of tea buds is slow, the yield is the rarest, and the price is relatively higher.

The taste of winter tea

Because the growing environment is very cold, the accumulation of amino acids and carbohydrates in winter tea is higher, the taste is sweet and mellow, and the aroma is high without bitterness. Some winter slices even taste so smooth that they are not so tea-like, sweet and round and unforgettable.

After talking about winter films, let's talk about the characteristics of tea in Taiwan all the year round.

Why does tea taste different in different seasons?

Taiwan has a subtropical climate and is an island with tea to drink all the year round.

When we discuss the quality and season of tea, we can start with two factors, the first is the proportion of tea polyphenols and amino acids, and the other is climate.

Climate will affect the proportion of tea polyphenols and amino acids, and this ratio will also affect the degree of fermentation of tea.

Sweet winter tea and spring tea

Therefore, for green tea or light fermented oolong tea, we hope that the more amino acids, the better, the tea will have a sweet taste, so the winter tea and spring tea grown in the cold season have the best quality of the year, because high altitude and cold environment can reduce tea catechins and produce more sweet amino acids at the same time.

The fragrance of winter tea is sweet and bitter, while the aroma of spring tea is more intense, and the aroma is not only floral but also fruity.

Summer tea full of tea polyphenols

For heavy fermented tea and black tea, more catechins are needed to ferment and turn into a variety of flavor substances, so summer tea grown in a warm climate will be preferred, but depending on the region, sometimes there are good quality tea in spring and autumn. Incidentally, we need oriental beauty tea, honey-scented black tea, and so on, which are coveted by the little green leafhopper, and we also need a warmer climate to have the little green leafhopper.

But for other non-heavily fermented, fully fermented teas, tea leaves have more catechins and caffeine in warm weather, feel more bitter, and are usually cheaper.

The next time you choose tea, you can choose the right tea season according to different types of tea. Drink charming good tea!