Biluochun Tea Comes To Its Season

With the warming temperature, picking of Biluochun tea, one of the ten most famous teas in China, has started in Wuzhong district, Suzhou city. This tea has a delicate appearance with distinct white hairs. And it tastes fruity and has a floral aroma.

Do you want to know more about Biluochun? Continue to read this article.

How Does Biluochun Get Its Name?

The name Biluochun literally means "green snail spring". Bi, refers to this jade-like green shades; Luo, refers to its snail-like curl when the tea leaves are rolled into a tight swirl; and finally Chun, refers to the ideal harvest time for this tea.

However, Biluochun wasn’t its original name. This tea was first called “scary fragrance”. Legend has it that a tea picker carried some of the tea leaves between her breasts when she ran out of space in her basket and after a while, her body heat warmed the leaves and they began to emit a strong smell.

During the Qing Dynasty, the Kangxi Emperor visited Suzhou and fell in love with this tea. He gave it a more elegant name, namely, Biluochun. As a result, Biluochun became an imperial tea and gained its popularity all over the world.

Growing & Picking

Biluochun originates in Dongting Mountains near Lake Tai in Suzhou, Jiangsu province. It is also cultivated in other parts of China, most notably Zhejiang and Sichuan provinces, but the ones from the Dongting area are by far the best. The Dongting area features lakes and mountains. Water evaporates from the lakes, keeping the mountains shrouded in clouds and mist - the cool, misty conditions provide the ideal conditions for growing this high-quality tea. And the floral aroma of Biluochun is produced in part by the apricot, plum and peach trees that are planted in between tea bushes - the tea leaves can absorb some of the fragrance from the fruit trees.

The technique for collecting tea leaves is very complex. Only the tender tip of the leaf is used for the tea making process. This part of the leaf should be no longer than one inch long and shaped like the tip of a spear. And this step should be done very early in the year, roughly between the middle of March to the middle of April. Biluochun is divided into seven grades in decreasing order of quality: Supreme, Supreme I, Grade I, Grade II, Grade III, Chao Qing I, and Chao Qing II.

Brewing Instructions

·Prepare tea leaves at a proportion of some 1:50. For 100ml water, 3-5g tea is needed. Decide the amount according to your own taste preference.

·Pour water that is 80 ºC into the container, and wait for 3-5 minutes. Biluochun is one-leaf bud, so make sure the temperature is not too high or you will burn the Biluochun. If this happens, the tea leaves will be yellow; the drink will taste bitter with an acidic taste; all beneficial antioxidants will also be destroyed.

·After 3-5 minutes you can pour the tea of the Biluochun via strainer. Enjoy the elegant aroma and mellow sweet aftertaste.

Notice: Biluochun is usually brewed 2-3 times. Every time the aroma and the taste are different.  The first time, the smell will be quite delicate, and the taste is fresh; the second time, you will find that the aroma is stronger from the cup and the taste is quite mellow; the third time, you will find strong fragrance that smells sweet and makes your mouth water, it has a delicate sweet aftertaste. 

It is worth it to invest in a bottle with filter. Personally, I recommend this one.

Just put tea leaves inside the main compartment, then put the filter on top, and fill it with hot water. You don't have to remove the tea leaves before drinking. The filter keeps the leaves in the bottle when you upend it to drink. The double walled glass insulation keeps the outside from getting too hot when you hold it.