Spring vs Autumn/Winter oolong

[Salsero]

I just finished tasting a series of Tea from Taiwan oolong samples, all Spring teas. None of them seemed as good as I remember their tea being a couple years ago, when I tried several Autumn teas from them.

Now I am wondering if the difference is due mostly to

• 1) My changing tastes and experience (I have had a lot
  of really great oolongs since then!)
  2) Autumn oolongs being quite a bit better than Spring oolongs.

Some prefer Autumn/Winter harvest over Spring harvest. Do any of our hard core oolong addicts have a firm opinion on this?

[tenuki]

I prefer winter harvest - better mouth feel. spring is usually lighter and more floral.

The phrase 'a couple of years ago' tends to identify that the 2006/2007 harvests were better than the last couple of years - which has been my experience as well. Winter 2007 produced some of the nicest gaoshan I've ever tasted.

[Victoria]

I prefer the more floral spring offerings. But I agree with Tenuki the last 2 years have been somewhat less impressive. Spring 2007 was really great.
I think there are some exceptional Spring '09's out there, but they need to be supremely well crafted to make the best of the lesser leaf. Not everyone is doing that. So word of mouth is the way to go. As is generally, I guess. I found 2 from Floating Leaves Tea; the LiShan and the DaYuLing. The AliShan fro Camellia Sinensis is also above average. And the Subtropical Baozhong from TeaMeasters is just slightly a notch less than last year, still quite impressive.

[Maitre_Tea]

I read somewhere that spring harvests have the best aroma, while autumn harvests have the best flavor, because the tea trees are stocking up their nutrients and whatnot for the winter...I'll try to find the article so it won't look like I'm talking out of my hat

[Salsero]

Thanks, guys, for all the help. I think I understand the interplay of various factors better after your explantations.

[Intuit]

Cloudy, cooler climate due to La Nina-ENSO pattern coupled with an exceptional solar minimum the last two years have affected crop yield and quality, compared to 2006-07 growing seasons featuring drier and warmer climate with abundant sunshine.

Seasonal climate variation affects volatile oil composition, as does processing technique that intensifies differences between seasonal harvests.

Coming out of winter, one normally wishes for lighter and refreshing flavors with high aroma that is relatively non-stimulating (doesn't make you feel warmer) versus winter teas that are highly complex, less aromatic and are metabolically stimulating by comparison.

[Tead Off]

As a regular customer of teafromtaiwan, tasting the difference between spring and winter oolongs is interesting. If I don't set up a pre-determined bias in my mind between the 2 seasons, I find each has its own enjoyment and differences. I wouldn't say the quality is different than last year's. Or, the enjoyment.

When I first opened my new bags of Long Feng Xia and Wu Ling, I thought they were lighter tasting and not as complex as the Winter harvest. When I started getting the teas out of the vaccuum packaging that they come in, and, into clay tea caddies, after a couple of days, the teas opened into something tangibly more flavorful and aromatic. This was a good discovery and I recommend this to all. Get your teas out of the packaging it comes in and let them breathe and open.

So, my take on this Spring's harvest of teafromtaiwan teas? Excellent. Though, I 'm still not high on their Dong Ding. Too roasted for my taste.

PS-I continue to stick with organics. No poisons in my tea, please.