The harvest of Wuniu early tea begins on 3,067 acres in Yongjia

As the spring warms the earth, the fragrance of the tea garden fills the air. In the Ma’ao Tea Garden Base of Wuniu Sub-district, Yongjia County, stretches of tea mountains are brimming with the vigor of spring. This year’s first batch of Yongjia early spring tea,“Wuniu Early”, is being eagerly harvested. In recent days, the tea farmers have seized the opportunity to supply the market with the earliest tea.

The tea garden is vibrant, with rows of neatly arranged, verdant tea trees, exuding a delicate tea fragrance that permeates the entire garden. Due to the rising temperatures and abundant early rainfall, the tea leaves here are in a plump state, each with one bud and one leaf. Farmer Liu Shunsheng explained that in early February, the tea trees had slowly sprouted buds. Although this year’s tea harvesting time is a few days later compared to last year, the first crop of tender buds is fuller, with a length of about 2.5 centimeters.“The rainfall before the Chinese New Year was relatively good, resulting in beautiful and high-quality tea leaves. Judging from this year’s growth, the production is expected to increase by 15% compared to last year,” he said.

Up in the mountains, everyone is busy picking, and down at the tea processing workshop, the machines are also up and running. After 8 hours of withering, the tea leaves are placed into an integrated tea frying machine for the fixation process, emitting a strong, fresh tea fragrance.

It is reported that this year, the tea plantation in Yongjia County covers an area of 3,533 acres, with 3,067 acres dedicated to Wuniu early tea. The estimated production exceeds 600 tons, with an output value of about 260 million yuan. Currently, part of the Wuniu early tea has been continuously harvested, and in a week, the Wuniu early tea leaves will enter their peak harvesting period.(ZhongXin)