"Green Snail" Bi Luo Chun Green Tea

When the wise tea master Lao Cha was walking through the tea gardens with his disciple, the young monk asked his teacher:
— Shifu, why does this tea garden have fruit trees growing everywhere? 
— So that the tea which we will make from these fine tea leaves can have the sweet taste of fruits, which it absorbs from the nearby trees. 
— Shifu, so how will we call this tea? 
— We shall call it Bi Luo Chun – “The Green Snail of Spring”! 

Bi Luo Chun is made only from the tips of tea leaves in a meticulous process that results in its tightly rolled-up shape. This craft tea is renowned for its strong fruity aroma and mellow flavor. Bi Luo Chun Green Tea is on China's Top Ten Teas list. Although the list varies through the years, Bi Luo Chin remains a household name. The Qing dynasty's Emperor Kangxi, who adored the tea, gave the tea its name.

There is an interesting legend about how this tea got its name. It tells about two girls who went on a walk in the mountain. Upon discovering the tea bush, they started to fill their baskets with fresh tea leaves. With the basket filled up to the brim, one of the girls started putting leaves in her bosom. Once heated up, they started oozing an intense aroma, which at first startled the girl. And so, the tea was named "frightening people fragrance", or XiaSha Ren Xiang (吓傻人香). Later, when the emperor toured the area, he sampled the tea and decided it surely deserved a more elegant name. Thus, it was renamed BiLuoChun. BiLuo means "snail" and refers to the rolled tea leaves in the form of green spirals. "Chun" is for spring, as farmers harvest this tea in early spring.

A plantation growing Bi Luo Chun is amazing to visit, with the tea plants mixed with a variety of fragrant fruit trees to give the tea its distinct aroma and taste.

Our Bi Luo Chun is a premium-grade tea that comes directly from Taihu Lake in delta Yangtze river. It is packed with umami, has a bright green color, and a strong citrusy aroma with a unique thirst-quenching quality. The dry leaves are of moist, dark green color, loosely twisted, with a visible white fuzz cover. A cloudy green tea soup gradually turns clear as the white fuzz dissolves with further brews. Fruity, bold, and savory aroma, full of umami. The taste is sweet and refreshing, with gentle smoky and hickory notes. Smooth mouthfeel without astringency and grassiness. The high grades of this craft tea have very good brewing resistance, with taste and fragrance notes still noticeable after more than six brews.

To let this tea fully reveal its rich palette of aromas and tastes, we recommend using hot water within 80-85ºC / 175-180ºF. A glass teapot or a tall glass will let you immerse in the pleasant view of the dancing tea leaves as they slowly unfurl.

Brewing guidelines: