The He Family is pleased to announce that they have wrapped up a great 2020 spring harvest.

This year’s weather was very cool. The persistent cool weather pushed the picking dates far later than usual, but also gave the tea more time to slowly build up nutrients from the soil. Cooler weather and longer growing times mean richer, sweeter, more mineral and texture-driven tea at the expense of a smaller overall harvest.

Thankfully 2019-2020 was a mild winter compared to the last two years, meaning that the plants in China’s northernmost tea growing region did not suffer frost damage. The He Family’s plants have been able to recover, and this new recovery growth has been rich and tender, a boon for the He Family after so many difficult years.

Later picking dates and critically delayed shipping around the world mean that these 2020 spring harvests are coming later than we would usually see, but we have the He Family’s early spring pickings packaged and confirmed on alternate shipping routes to bypass delays. This means we can finally open pre-orders for these rare and precious early harvests.

To celebrate the cool perfect spring growing season, Mr. He was able to set aside an extremely limited quantity of Special Grade spring Laoshan teas, the very first harvest after the protective greenhouse covers are removed, picking this year in the first few days of May.

These teas are rich, sweet and powerful aromatic experiences normally not available in enough quantity to even drink outside the He family’s own home. This year a few kilos were finished, so we are happy to make them available. The He Family also has their late April reserve harvests ready to go- picked while buds are growing slowy, sweet and delicate.

Classic harvests have been finished, but will not be available for pre-order until later this season when we can confirm shipping dates given limited international shipping space. We are working with carriers through multiple routes to secure the first available space given the overflow of cargo backup with nearly all flights grounded.

First round pre-orders are already lined up with confirmed shipping, and right now, we expect them to arrive in mid-July. We will keep this timeline updated here on this page as new updates are available.

In order to provide the best service possible and get you your teas as fresh as we can, we are splitting pre-order teas and in stock teas from your orders and shipping all in stock teas immediately for domestic US orders at no additional cost so that you don’t have to wait.

‘Laoshan black teas, Laoshan oolongs and Laoshan herbals will be available for pre-order as soon as we can confirm exact quantities with the He Family, likely before the end of June. If you aren’t already on the mailing list, sign up to get the first notice when pre-orders for all the latest spring teas are available.

Thank you so much for your trust and support. To learn more about how much of a difference your support has made during these difficult times for our partners in China, read our covid-19 update. We’re so grateful for the chance to share!