Bi Luo Chun碧螺春
Dongting Mountains, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
Bi Luo Chun is a green tea from Dongting Mountains, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China. Brew it at 80°C with 4g of leaf per 100ml of water; expect up to 6 short infusions in a small gaiwan or teapot. No rinse needed.
Quick facts
- Origin
- Dongting Mountains, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
- Category
- Green tea
- Cultivar
- Dongting small-leaf cultivar
- Oxidation
- none
- Roast
- none
- Water temp
- 80°C
- Leaf ratio
- 4g / 100ml
- Infusions
- up to 6
- Rinse
- No
Tasting notes
These spirals are so tightly wound and so covered in white fuzz that the first time you brew Bi Luo Chun the water goes cloudy — that's fine, that's the downy trichomes dissolving, and they carry a lot of what you want. The trick this tea demands is counter-intuitive: add the leaves to water, not water to leaves. Pouring hot water onto those small spirals scorches them into something flat and bitter before they ever open. Done right, the cup tastes like a stone-fruit orchard in April — apricot, a touch of plum skin, white flowers hovering at the top. The fruit note is real; it comes from the peach and plum trees grown between the tea rows. Keep the water at 80°C and the steeps short — twelve to fifteen seconds is enough once the leaves unfurl. Three or four good infusions, then the fuzz is gone and so is the tea.
Flavor profile
One of China's most famous green teas, prized for its tiny spiral-rolled leaves covered in white down. The interplanting with fruit trees gives authentic Dongting Bi Luo Chun a distinctive fruity sweetness absent from versions grown elsewhere. The liquor is bright and clean with floral top notes, stone fruit mid-palate, and a fresh finish. Remarkably aromatic for a green tea. One kilogram requires 14,000-15,000 hand-picked shoots.
Terroir
Shores of Lake Tai, ~200-400m elevation, interplanted with fruit trees (peach, plum, apricot) that impart floral-fruity character
Cultivar: Dongting small-leaf cultivar
Brewing
- Steep 1: 15 seconds
- Steep 2: 15 seconds
- Steep 3: 20 seconds
- Steep 4: 30 seconds
- Steep 5: 40 seconds
- Steep 6: 55 seconds
The tiny rolled leaves extract quickly — keep early steeps short. Water above 85°C turns the brew bitter. Add leaves to water (not water to leaves) to avoid scorching.
Aroma & taste
Aroma
- stone fruit
- floral
- fresh vegetal
Taste
- fruity
- sweet
- clean
- floral
Processing
- pan-fired
- hand-rolled into tight spirals