Huangshan Mao Feng · 2026 Pre-Qingming Green Tea, First Harvest

There's a reason people who know tea move fast when Mao Feng season opens.

Pre-Qingming Huangshan Mao Feng is available for a matter of weeks. The window between first bud and the Qingming solar term is narrow, the yield is small, and the tea that comes from it -- fresh, aromatic, clean -- doesn't taste like this at any other time of year.

This is the one worth knowing about before it's gone.

What's in the cup

Huangshan Mao Feng (黄山毛峰) is one of China's ten famous teas, grown in the mist-covered peaks of Huangshan, Anhui province. The leaves are small, tender buds picked before Qingming -- the most prized harvest window in Chinese green tea. At this stage the buds carry maximum fragrance and sweetness with minimal bitterness.

The dry leaf is vivid: bright green, covered in fine white down, uniform and tight. Drop them into warm water and they stand upright before slowly settling -- a visual that tells you something real about the quality of the leaf.

Tasting notes

— Fragrance: fresh, high, floral -- clean mountain air in a cup

— Liquor: pale yellow-green, luminous

— Sip: tender, sweet, no astringency

— Finish: smooth and lingering

— Character: fresh, aromatic, mellow, refreshing

Why pre-Qingming

Qingming falls around April 5th each year. Tea picked before this date has spent the winter accumulating nutrients in the bud -- amino acids are at their peak, bitterness compounds are low. The flavor is softer, sweeter, more alive than later harvests. Pre-Qingming (明前) is not a marketing term. It's a difference you can taste.

Harvest & details

— Harvest: 2026, pre-Qingming (before April 5th)

— Origin: Huangshan, Anhui, China

— Grade: first flush, tender buds

— Style: Mao Feng, traditional method

How to brew

Water temperature: 175–185°F (80–85°C) — never boiling, never rushing

Use a glass if you have one: watching Mao Feng stand upright in the water is one of the quiet pleasures of spring tea

Leaf ratio: 3g per 300ml

First steep: 60–90 seconds. Add 20–30 seconds each round after.

2–3 steeps is where this tea lives best.