If you are a senior green tea lover, you must have tried Biluochun Tea (碧螺春) – one of the most famous Chinese green teas and one of the top ten best Chinese teas. Originally grown in the Dong Ting mountain of Tai Hu, Suzhou city, Jiangsu Province, it is also called Pi Lo Chun, and stands out for its five outstanding characteristics: unique snail-meat shape, rich floral aroma, sweet fruity taste, showy white hairs and early cropping.
Bi Luo Chun tea was initially named Xia Sha Ren Xiang (“Scary Fragrance”) for its strong aroma. Later in Qing Dynasty, Emperor Kangxi visited Taihu Lake in the 38th year during his reign. He was very impressed by the aroma of the tea and really favored it. Thus he gave it a more elegant name – “Bi Luo Chun” (literally means “Green Snail Spring”), as it belongs to Chinese green tea variety, with the processed tea rolling into a tight spiral, resembling the snail meat, and is planted in the early spring.
The plantation area of Biluochun tea
Most of the Biluochun green tea plantation distribute around West Dongting mountain area and East Dongting mountain area in Suzhou, with nearly 2000 hectares of tea fields, where the climate is mild with moist air (benefits a lot from the Taihu Lake), and the loose land is rich in slight acidic and acidic soil, all particularly suitable for Bi Luo Chun tea cultivation. Furthermore, the fruit and flower trees including cassia trees, plum trees, roses, magnolias, bamboos are also planted around the tea trees, giving the tea a natural floral aroma and fruity taste. However, Bi Luo Chun from East Dongting Mountain is considered the best.
Today, Bi Luo Chun tea is also grown in Zhejiang and Sichuan provinces. But the tea leaves are larger and less uniform (may be of yellow color), with more nutty taste.
The varieties of Bi Luo Chun green tea
According to the national tea standard, Bi Luo Chun can be divided into five grades in decreasing order of quality: Supreme I, Supreme II, Grade I, Grade II, and Grade III. This Chinese tea picked before the Qingming Festival (falls on the early April), only plucking the initial buds, resembling the bird's tongue, is the best of all. It is so delicate and tender that one kilogram of Dong Ting Bi Luo Chun has 14,000 to 15,000 tea shoots. If you are looking for new China tea, never miss Bi Luo Chun.
Bi Luo Chun green tea has a history of over 1000 years, and always fascinated the upper class and tea experts in Chinese history. Zhen Jun (1857 – 1918 AD), author of tea encyclopedia Cha Shuo (The Theory of Tea), ranked it first among all Chinese green teas, while Longjing tea came second, and Liu An Gua Pian came third.
The health benefits of Bi Luo Chun green tea
According to the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and modern pharmacology, Bi Luo Chun Green Tea contains a mount of compounds that are conducive to health, including Vitamin C, vitamin A, caffeine, flavanols, catechins and etc. Bi Luo Chun has many health benefits for people of all ages:
>> is there caffeine in Chinese green tea? Yes, and the caffeine of Bi Luo Chun can help to remove tiredness, refresh brain, and raise working efficiency
>> It helps to Lower cholesterol, blood pressure, Inhibit atherosclerosis, and prevent cancer.
>> Similar to other green teas, Bi Luo Chun has a strong effect of losing weight, due to the substances including folic acid, catechins and caffeine that are responsible for fat-burning. It is exactly the China slim tea and Chinese weight loss tea you are looking for.
>> Bi Luo Chun green tea can also help to ease bronchial spasm, promote blood circulation, and is a good supplement in the treatment of bronchial asthma, myocardial infarction.
The brew method of Bi Luo Chun Tea
1. Prepare the Chinese tea sets: Tea tray, tea holder, glass, fair cup, Pinming cup, filter, shelf, tea ceremony sets (tea pin, tea tongs, tea spoon, tea scoop, tea funnel, tea container).
2. Add approximately 3-4 teaspoons of Bi Luo Chun tea into the tea holder.
3. Boil the water. And use the boiling water to warm and clean the tea sets.
4. Pour the water below 80ºC into the glass with the prepared tea leaves. Make sure that the water temperature is not too high, as it may burn the tea leaves, causing the loss of antioxidants and making it taste bitter and acidic.
5. Wait for 3-5 minutes, and enjoy the “dancing Bi Luo Chun” in the glass. Then pour the tea into each cup for drinking.
6. Bi Luo Chun is usually brewed for 2-3 times, with different aroma and taste for each brew.