Bud dormancy release determines the onset of spring shoot growth in tea plants. To examine coordinated transcriptional and DNA methylation changes under natural field conditions, apical buds of Camellia sinensis cv. ‘Xinyang 10’ were collected at dormancy (DO), deep dormancy (DD), bud break (BB), and leaf expansion (LE) and analyzed by RNA sequencing and whole-genome bisulfite sequencing. Pairwise comparisons identified 5,341 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between DD and BB and 5,922 between DD and LE, whereas only 241 DEGs were detected between BB and LE. Temporal expression profiles showed a shift from winter-associated stress and metabolic processes to DNA replication, cell-cycle activity, meristem growth, and photosynthesis after dormancy release. Mean CHH methylation declined from 10.55% in DO and 10.45% in DD to 5.40% in BB and 4.80% in LE. Differentially methylated regions were dominated by the CHH context in winter-to-spring comparisons. Integration of methylation and expression data identified both concordant and inverse associations between methylation and gene expression. At three selected loci, higher expression in BB and LE coincided with lower CHH methylation in the surrounding regions. This study characterized transcriptome and methylome dynamics in tea buds under natural overwintering conditions in the Jiangbei tea-growing region and identified CHH methylation as the most dynamic methylation context associated with seasonal bud dormancy release.