How to Pick Tea Leaves

Harvesting tea leafs requires knowledge and hard work.

Harvesting tea represents one crucial stage in the tea production process. Prepare for hard work when picking tea leafs. According to The Tea Site, pick tea by one of two processes -- fine or coarse plucking. Since tea leafs are easily damaged, most pickers pick by hand. Harvest tea leafs based on desired quantities and quality of tea you want to produce.

Instructions

1. Harvest tea twice a year during harvest seasons, which are called "flushes." Pick tea leafs during the "first flush," which occurs early in the spring, according to the Tea Site. Harvest tea leafs again in the "second flush" of early summer.

2. Pick tea leafs using the fine plucking method for the best quality tea. Pluck most of the newest growth on the plant--the bud and only the second and third leafs beneath the bud. Harvesting these parts of the plant will result in a light and delicate tea, according to the Tea Site.

3. Harvest tea leafs with the coarse plucking method, especially if you need to harvest a great quantity of leafs, advises the website, Agriculture Guide. Gather more leafs -- three or four -- from the tea plant with the coarse plucking method, in contrast to fine plucking. Expect to produce lower tea quality when harvesting tea by coarse plucking.

References

• The Tea Site: Harvesting Tea
• Agriculture Guide: Growing Tea, Obtaining High Quality Tea through Sound Cultivation Techniques

Resources

• Equal Exchange Coop: What does First Flush and Second Flush mean?