The first harvest is in spring. There are 1 or 2 more harvests during the summer.
First-harvest teas taste better and contain more polyphenols and vitamins than second and third harvest teas.
Harvesting begins in late April or May and produces the highest quality green tea leaves.
The leaves gathered in May have up to three times the amount of L-theanine than tea produced in the later harvests.
Japanese Green Tea Online only ships first-harvest teas
All of our teas (loose leaf, matcha and tea bags).
There is a tremendous difference in quality between teas from the first harvest and all the rest.
Fresh teas from the first harvest can be purchased all year round because the teas are kept in cold storage. More on cold storage here.