The terraced tea gardens on the lower slopes of Moganshan produce a variety called moganhuangya — Moganshan yellow bud — a lightly processed tea with a delicate, slightly sweet character that sits between green and yellow tea in style. The harvest happens in the weeks around Qingming (early April), when the new season's growth first appears, and the best-quality leaves are picked as single buds before they fully open.
The tea gardens are accessible on foot from the main village and are most atmospheric during and just after the spring harvest, when pickers move through the rows and the air carries the fresh smell of new growth. Several farms sell direct from small shops or guesthouses, and a pot of locally made tea drunk on a terrace overlooking the bamboo forest and the valley below is one of Moganshan's simple pleasures. The tea is not famous in the way of Longjing or Da Hong Pao, but its quality is high and its obscurity keeps the prices honest.