Garden Direct Spring Harvest Field Report

Here we are in 2025, eagerly awaiting the fresh batches from the recently produced and forthcoming spring harvests across the tea-producing world. Setting aside the geopolitical and trade challenges that will inevitably impact our industry, this is usually a joyful and exciting time of year for all of us who source and love tea.

Many farmers in Yunnan and Southeast Asia have shared that the weather has been quite favorable—less dry than in recent years. We have already produced some outstanding teas in Yunnan, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand. The first batches of Sun-Dried Green Teas, White Teas and a special forest-grown Assam cultivar black tea from Thailand are on their way.

Some of our sought after organic green teas from the Hubei #1 and Hubei #10 as well as the local landrace Quntizhong cultivars are growing a bit slower due to a cold front. Green Needles and Yu Ya Jade Buds are expected to be completed before the end of next week. Although the yields of early spring teas are a bit lower than last year for all our small leaf cultivar green teas, the quality will better overall. We have a few classic Mao Feng Green teas being made in a high mountain forestry that will be released later than most other green teas due to the cool weather and slow gradual growth of the first flush shoots. We are eager to get this later harvested Mao Feng from this unique forestry terroir.

Our organic network in Jin Long Ping Village near Enshi has already completed our green teas, which include Dragon Well, Yulu Jade Dew, Long Jing #43 and Long Jing #108 cultivars. Those teas are on the way to us now and will soon be available at Rishi-Tea.com.

As weather patterns continue to develop in the regions where we source tea, we anticipate a slight delay in the harvest of Japan’s mountain-region Shincha due to recent cold weather. As of now, it is still a bit early to provide a comprehensive update on Japanese teas, but our team will be visiting Japan from late April through May to connect with our organic farmer networks during the key harvest periods, as the first flush progresses from the southern regions to Shizuoka.

We are also expecting some delays in the production of our beloved Darjeeling first flush teas from the Golden Valley and Rongbong Valley areas. March has been particularly dry, resulting in a smaller-than-usual crop. However, we anticipate improvements in both yield and quality in April as we await better tea. We will keep our website updated with the best selections as they arrive.

Lastly, we are especially excited about the new teas and flower-scented blends we are developing in Myanmar this year, using Jasmine, Ylang Ylang and Ginger Lily flowers. These teas are expected to launch on our website in mid-summer—stay tuned for more updates as the tea season unfolds!

From Japan’s Shincha to China’s early spring greens and the prized first flushes of Darjeeling, the tea calendar is always in motion. Visit our Global Tea Harvest Timeline to learn more about how the seasons shape tea across the world—and what to look forward to next.