First Flush and Second Flush: What Harvest Timing Changes

Tea is picked several times a year. The first growth of the season is ichibancha, first flush; later growth becomes second and third flush.

Tencha comes primarily from the first flush.

Winter reserves

Tea plants store nutrients in their roots over winter. The first shoots of spring draw on those reserves.

L-theanine, the savory amino acid, is synthesized in the roots and transported to the leaves. First flush carries more umami largely because of that stored reserve.

Later flushes grow from depleted reserves. Warmer temperatures and stronger sun also accelerate the conversion of theanine into astringent catechins, so astringency comes forward.

The cost of shading

Shaded cultivation happens during the first flush.

Covers stay on for several weeks between bud break and harvest, with light levels managed throughout. It is labor- and material-intensive.

Extending that treatment to second and third flush is not standard practice.

Staggered picking windows

Cultivars differ in optimal harvest timing — early, mid, and late season classifications exist. Planting several spreads the workload while adding flavor range.

Samidori, the most widely planted tencha cultivar in Uji, has a relatively long picking window, which makes it manageable for growers.

It shows in price

First and second flush differ in raw material cost, and shading adds to that.

NARO research reports that higher-priced matcha carries more theanine — the growing and harvest conditions are visible in the composition.

Rarely stated on packaging

Few products specify first flush. Some do, and it functions as a claim.

Sweetened products carry less of this information generally. Where origin appears, it at least indicates the growing region.