Characteristics of shoot growth and fresh leaves of tea variety Rongchunlu

Rongchunlu (a temporary name) is a new tea variety with early-flushing with dense shoots. The raw material with one bud and one leaf can be picked as early as on March 2 to 8. Five rounds with more than twenty times of picking can be taken annually. The picking period lasts about 275 days and ends in the first ten-day of December. The leaf is yellow-green and elliptic with fewer downs and middle to small size. The leaves of the first round picking suit to be processed into green tea especially the thin and flat green tea. The yield of tenderly picked shoots and leaves is quite high. The early picked shoots and leaves could be processed into the high quality tea. The raw material with one bud and one leaf (fresh)contained 45. 69% of water soluble matter, 35. 54% of polyphenols, 4. 47% of free amino acid, 5. 06% of caffeine, 6. 11 mg · g-1 of flavones, 0. 79 mg · g-1 of chlorophyll, 4. 07% water soluble carbohydrate, respectively, and with a ratio of the polyphenols to the free amino acid being 7. 95. Rongchunlu is a tea of especially early-shooting and rich in polyphenols and amino-acids.