Staff from Jiangsu Mingding Tea Plantation pick the early black tea leaves on March 1. [Photo/Xinhua]

For tea lovers, it's the moment they've been waiting for all winter. Yixing in Wuxi, home to many of China's most famous tea brands, has started its early spring tea-picking season.

Spring tea is renowned for being the freshest and most nutritious of the year, so the year's first harvest is always eagerly anticipated. As Yixing tea is among the earliest to mature in China each year, these leaves are likely to be the first spring tea fix many are able to get their hands on.

Staff from Jiangsu Mingding Tea Plantation started picking the early black tea leaves on March 1, making Yixing the first city in Jiangsu province to start this year's tea-picking, according to Jiangsu Agricultural Committee.

The harvest for the famous Yixing green teas Wuniuzao and Longjing Changye started even earlier, in mid-February.

The city is home to more than 250 tea companies, producing over 20 different teas.