Spring Puerh | How to determine?

[auhckw]

It is said that Spring Puerh is of the best quality compared to other seasons. But the question is how do you determine it is from Spring???

Here are some info I got from a tea seller:-

1) Spring Puerh does not carry bitterness. If it is bitter, it is not spring Puerh

2) The date printed on the packing of the Puerh does not necessary mean it is from Spring. The date is referred to packing date. This makes it even harder to identify

3) Packing of some small factories are totally ridiculous and non standardized. I have experience seeing Puerh of the exact same packing and dates but was told that the inner Puerh is of different season. Price range is so much different.

4) It has to come down to tasting the Puerh. Problem is, how are you sure by tasting it even with no bitterness it is Spring?

So what is your opinion? How do you select?

[MarshalN]

1) Definitely false. Bitterness has a lot to do with processing.

2) Well, that's obvious

3) Of course

4) You can't

Looking at the leaves sometimes helps, although even then, not really. I think it's really about the amount of "stuff" you can get out of the tea sometimes. It's really a case by case basis.

[Drax]

Agreed w/ MarshalN.

You might also tell in some cases by the 'batch' number? I.e. 0801, 0802... but that's a SWAG.

A year and a half ago, I did a side-by-side comparison of a Yong Pin Hao Yi Wu from 2007 that came in "normal" and "fall harvest (or gu hua)" (both available from Puerh Shop).

I noted that the fall leaves looked a little lighter or redder/browner, maybe a bit more scraggly, too. A few more twigs possibly as well.

As I brewed, I noted that the fall harvest had a nice hay/nutty aroma. And the non-fall was "similar, but has massive dryness/astringency, deeper and stronger flavor."

I noted that the fall harvest beeng was "all around gentler."

At the end, I wrote that the non-fall harvest had bigger leaves, and that the fall harvest had a fair amount of twigs.

Well, there's one data point on one tea. . .

[MarshalN]

The problem with using leaf size to tell things apart is that different leaves from different regions will have different sizes. Just because someone claims something is from Yiwu doesn't actually mean it's really from Yiwu.

[hop_goblin]

The easiest way is to check the leaf. It they are larger leaves, it more than likely is of Fall harvest. But again, this is only an indicator and not necessary a law.

[MarshalN]

The easiest way is to check the leaf. It they are larger leaves, it more than likely is of Fall harvest. But again, this is only an indicator and not necessary a law.

That really doesn't mean anything at all. Certain regions only have small leaves, but they're most definitely not all spring pu.

[hop_goblin]

The easiest way is to check the leaf. It they are larger leaves, it more than likely is of Fall harvest. But again, this is only an indicator and not necessary a law.

That really doesn't mean anything at all. Certain regions only have small leaves, but they're most definitely not all spring pu.

exactly, thus the disclaimer in my statement.

[MarshalN]

exactly, thus the disclaimer in my statement.

But your disclaimer needs to basically say "my theory has no explanatory power at all." You said "it more than likely is Fall harvest," which is completely untrue. It could also, for example, be summer tea, which you would want to avoid at all cost.

[zhi zheng]

I totally agree: leaf size has nothing much to do with it - unless one is perhaps intimately acquainted with one particular mountain/village/ & its seasonal variations.

Taste and the number of times a tea can be steeped are likely to be more useful indicators, but I think the above proviso would likely still apply.