Not every leaf on a tea plant becomes tea.
During harvest, pickers look for specific combinations of young buds and leaves. What they choose depends on the tea being made and the season.
Some teas begin with a single unopened bud. Others are picked as a bud with one or two tender leaves. These younger parts of the plant are prized for their softness and concentration of flavor, while more mature leaves can bring greater structure and depth.
Timing matters, too. A leaf picked early in the season can taste remarkably different from one gathered from the same plant weeks later. Growth, temperature, rainfall, and sunlight all leave their mark.
Long before the leaves reach the kettle, the character of a tea is already being shaped: one picking at a time.