Spring vs Autumn Puerhs
I just put in an order for several bings of Yunnan Sourcing's new Autumn 2013 raw teas and was wondering, is there really a big difference between spring tea and autumn tea in what you can actually taste? Are there any reasons why sometimes autumn might be better than spring?
Re: Spring vs Autumn Puerhs
Typically I've found that spring teas are thicker, meatier, more powerful, and better aging. Most of the autumnal teas that I have purchased are thinner, more floral, lighter, and more likely to become thin/weak with age. There are exceptions, of course, but this has been my general experienceAllanK wrote:I just put in an order for several bings of Yunnan Sourcing's new Autumn 2013 raw teas and was wondering, is there really a big difference between spring tea and autumn tea in what you can actually taste? Are there any reasons why sometimes autumn might be better than spring?
Re: Spring vs Autumn Puerhs
+1Exempt wrote:Typically I've found that spring teas are thicker, meatier, more powerful, and better aging. Most of the autumnal teas that I have purchased are thinner, more floral, lighter, and more likely to become thin/weak with age. There are exceptions, of course, but this has been my general experienceAllanK wrote:I just put in an order for several bings of Yunnan Sourcing's new Autumn 2013 raw teas and was wondering, is there really a big difference between spring tea and autumn tea in what you can actually taste? Are there any reasons why sometimes autumn might be better than spring?
Re: Spring vs Autumn Puerhs
When I asked Scott about this he said he sources all the Autumn YS teas himself and he always chooses powerful teas that should age well. For good measure, I added two spring cakes to my order as well. I should have it in 4-5 days.Exempt wrote:Typically I've found that spring teas are thicker, meatier, more powerful, and better aging. Most of the autumnal teas that I have purchased are thinner, more floral, lighter, and more likely to become thin/weak with age. There are exceptions, of course, but this has been my general experienceAllanK wrote:I just put in an order for several bings of Yunnan Sourcing's new Autumn 2013 raw teas and was wondering, is there really a big difference between spring tea and autumn tea in what you can actually taste? Are there any reasons why sometimes autumn might be better than spring?
Re: Spring vs Autumn Puerhs
Given a choice, I would personally go for spring. I haven't had a single piece of autumn at all in my collection, but tried it before in many occasions. Since you have ordered spring and autumn, you should brew them both together to compare.
Cheers!
Cheers!

Re: Spring vs Autumn Puerhs
I thoroughly enjoy yunnansourcing teas and they account for a large portion of space in my pumicer but you also need to evaluate your source. He is obviously going to upwell all of his teas. Also, even if he chose the most powerful autumnal teas available to him, they will still not be as strong or thick as spring teasAllanK wrote:When I asked Scott about this he said he sources all the Autumn YS teas himself and he always chooses powerful teas that should age well. For good measure, I added two spring cakes to my order as well. I should have it in 4-5 days.Exempt wrote:Typically I've found that spring teas are thicker, meatier, more powerful, and better aging. Most of the autumnal teas that I have purchased are thinner, more floral, lighter, and more likely to become thin/weak with age. There are exceptions, of course, but this has been my general experienceAllanK wrote:I just put in an order for several bings of Yunnan Sourcing's new Autumn 2013 raw teas and was wondering, is there really a big difference between spring tea and autumn tea in what you can actually taste? Are there any reasons why sometimes autumn might be better than spring?
Re: Spring vs Autumn Puerhs
I quite liked the 2011 YS Mang Fei autumn version, very lively and spicy...who knows what the spring harvest would be like...maybe a lot mre intense. But generally speaking, I also stick to spring tea.
Re: Spring vs Autumn Puerhs
I've had both Spring and Autumn harvest from Mangfei, 2011. Both good. I bought the spring but not YS. Mine is from Mengdai. I like the tea quite a bit.bagua7 wrote:I quite liked the 2011 YS Mang Fei autumn version, very lively and spicy...who knows what the spring harvest would be like...maybe a lot mre intense. But generally speaking, I also stick to spring tea.
May 9th, '14, 16:51
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Re: Spring vs Autumn Puerhs
Spring leaves are always desired. They will contain more tannins and the oomph needed for a complex brew which will also aid in its aging.
Autumn leaves are less pungent and masculine but they are still a wonderful addition to a collection. A good way to tell if your leaves are autumn other than labeling. Autumn leaves will generally be larger than your spring fare.
Autumn leaves are less pungent and masculine but they are still a wonderful addition to a collection. A good way to tell if your leaves are autumn other than labeling. Autumn leaves will generally be larger than your spring fare.
Re: Spring vs Autumn Puerhs
If Autumn leaves are generally larger they should have less caffeine. Larger tea leaves have less caffeine. Good info.hop_goblin wrote:Spring leaves are always desired. They will contain more tannins and the oomph needed for a complex brew which will also aid in its aging.
Autumn leaves are less pungent and masculine but they are still a wonderful addition to a collection. A good way to tell if your leaves are autumn other than labeling. Autumn leaves will generally be larger than your spring fare.
May 10th, '14, 04:23
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Re: Spring vs Autumn Puerhs
In my opinion, large leaves only indicates that they were collected at the end of the season and / or fertilizers were applied to the plant.AllanK wrote:If Autumn leaves are generally larger they should have less caffeine. Larger tea leaves have less caffeine. Good info.hop_goblin wrote:Spring leaves are always desired. They will contain more tannins and the oomph needed for a complex brew which will also aid in its aging.
Autumn leaves are less pungent and masculine but they are still a wonderful addition to a collection. A good way to tell if your leaves are autumn other than labeling. Autumn leaves will generally be larger than your spring fare.
Caffeine, mostly depends from the varietal and probably, other factors of which I am not aware of.
Re: Spring vs Autumn Puerhs
Aren't there large leaf varieties, da ye, that are picked in Spring? I've seen many spring pickings with some enormous leaves in them.William wrote:In my opinion, large leaves only indicates that they were collected at the end of the season and / or fertilizers were applied to the plant.AllanK wrote:If Autumn leaves are generally larger they should have less caffeine. Larger tea leaves have less caffeine. Good info.hop_goblin wrote:Spring leaves are always desired. They will contain more tannins and the oomph needed for a complex brew which will also aid in its aging.
Autumn leaves are less pungent and masculine but they are still a wonderful addition to a collection. A good way to tell if your leaves are autumn other than labeling. Autumn leaves will generally be larger than your spring fare.
Caffeine, mostly depends from the varietal and probably, other factors of which I am not aware of.
May 10th, '14, 08:35
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Re: Spring vs Autumn Puerhs
You are right, there are varietal like Da Ye and a few others with bigger leaves. Usually these varietals, if grown with bio-dynamic/natural farming, have leaves of the size of Red Jade from Taiwan, that are usually not so small.Tead Off wrote:Aren't there large leaf varieties, da ye, that are picked in Spring? I've seen many spring pickings with some enormous leaves in them.William wrote:In my opinion, large leaves only indicates that they were collected at the end of the season and / or fertilizers were applied to the plant.AllanK wrote:If Autumn leaves are generally larger they should have less caffeine. Larger tea leaves have less caffeine. Good info.hop_goblin wrote:Spring leaves are always desired. They will contain more tannins and the oomph needed for a complex brew which will also aid in its aging.
Autumn leaves are less pungent and masculine but they are still a wonderful addition to a collection. A good way to tell if your leaves are autumn other than labeling. Autumn leaves will generally be larger than your spring fare.
Caffeine, mostly depends from the varietal and probably, other factors of which I am not aware of.
If these leaves are really too big, I would tend to be more cautious.
Re: Spring vs Autumn Puerhs
I think some of the members here who are in the field in Xishuangbanna and putting together cakes for their own business can shed 'factual' light on this subject.
May 10th, '14, 08:58
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Re: Spring vs Autumn Puerhs
+1Tead Off wrote:I think some of the members here who are in the field in Xishuangbanna and putting together cakes for their own business can shed 'factual' light on this subject.