Spring Tea Harvest Kicks Off in Hefeng, Hubei, Boosting Rural Income

As spring warms the mountains and tea gardens turn green, the first batch of spring tea in Hefeng County, Hubei Province, has officially entered the harvest season in recent days. Local tea farmers are seizing the fine spring weather to pick fresh leaves and process tea, composing a lively tune of increasing income through spring tea picking.

On March 5, a visit to the tea planting base in Shilongzhai Village, Wuyang Township, revealed terraced tea ridges stretching along the mountains, covered with tender tea buds, and a fresh tea fragrance wafting in the wind. Tea farmers, carrying bamboo baskets and cloth bags, shuttled between the tea ridges, skillfully picking the first spring tea leaves in strict accordance with the "one bud and one leaf, single bud" standard with quick and neat movements.

Tea planting has brought tangible income gains to local farmers. Based on the growth of tea trees this year, farmers are optimistic about a significant increase in their income compared with last year, when tea planting on a small plot of land brought in a considerable income.

This base, covering more than 50 mu (about 3.33 hectares), is a demonstration base for Hefeng County’s "reducing summer tea and increasing spring tea" model, mainly planting the Zhongcha 108 variety. Adopting the "company + farmer" model, the base allows farmers to grow tea trees independently, while a local tea company provides regular technical support and purchases tea leaves from villagers. This model has successfully driven over 100 people from 50 households to increase their income, with the per mu output value of high-quality tea gardens reaching 10,000 yuan.

Local tea companies have started purchasing famous and high-quality spring tea in recent days, stepping up processing to ensure timely delivery to markets in Guangdong and Zhejiang provinces. While tea picking is in full swing in the mountains, tea processing is efficiently carried out at the foot of the mountains.

In the processing workshop of the local tea company, procedures such as de-enzyming, spreading, shaping, aroma enhancing and drying are carried out in an orderly manner. Tea makers strictly control temperature, time and process details to ensure the high quality of the first batch of spring tea for market launch.

Through online and offline sales channels, local tea products were sold to 27 provinces and cities across the country last year. This year, the tea gardens are in good condition, and the tea produced in the first half of March has already been fully booked. In recent years, efforts to improve tea varieties, enhance quality, build brands and promote standardized production have continuously improved the quality and economic benefits of local tea.

In recent years, Hefeng County has relied on its resource advantages and industrial foundation to continuously optimize and strengthen the tea industry, transforming its ecological advantages into economic advantages. The county now has nearly 395,000 mu of tea gardens, 1,561 tea market entities, and an annual tea output value of over 5 billion yuan. The small tea leaves have become the "golden leaves" driving local people to increase their income and promoting rural development.