Tea Flush
Tea Flush
Tea Flush
What Is a Tea Flush?
Tea flush refer to the tea growing seasons.
WHAT ARE THE MAJOR TEA FLUSHES GROWN AND HARVESTED?
Three major flushes as follows:
First Flush from March to mid -May
Second Flush from June to mid-August
Third Flush (Autumn Flush) from October to November
FIRST FLUSH TEA
FROM MARCH TO MID-MAY
The color of the tea is light and clear with bright liquor. The leaves have a floral scent, with a lively character.
SECOND FLUSH TEA
FROM JUNE TO MID-AUGUST
The tea has a dark color and strong flavor in contrast to first flush teas. The tea leaves have purplish bloom and have a fruity taste generally. To explain further, tea has amber hue and taste is mostly muscatel grape flavor caused due to the tea plant-reacting to small insects that suck juices from the stems.
AUTUMN FLUSH TEA
FROM OCTOBER TO NOVEMBER
The tea color is dark or coppery and texture is full bodied but it has a lighter flavor. Autumn Darjeeling has a delicate as well as a sparkling character.
However, there are two minor flushes as well:
- In-Between Flush for two weeks in-between the first and second flushes.
- Rains/Monsoon Flush between the second and third flushes during the month of September.
It should be noted that the time periods are not fixed and it depends on the weather patterns in India . Excess rainfall earlier than expected can reduce the timeline of a second flush while increasing the rain flush by few weeks and vice-versa.