Classification: Bi Luo Chun “Green snail spring” - Pure bud green tea
Harvest: March 2019
Origin: China, Yunnan province, Simao district, Mojiang town
Cultivar: Yunkang #100
Grade: Special, Ace quality, Fantastic, rare
Leaf: Beautifully rolled silver buds into tiny pearls. Strong aroma of lily nectar, honey and biscuits, absolutely overpowering.
Infused leaf: The buds are light green, smooth and perfectly unified. Floral bouquet is almost opiated, tulips, peonies, lilies with hints of sweet green peas and a tiny hint of peach notes.
Liquor: Crystal clear and soft golden cup. Aroma of tulips, sweet peas and cream. Mouth-feel is silky, juicy and delicate with notes of orchid nectar, peaches, peonies, sweet honey and creamy butter texture. After-taste sweet, floral and vegetal. No acidity, a little astringency and super-super sweet.
About: The name Bi Luo Chun in Chinese means "Green Snail Spring”. Chosen as a Tribute Tea by the Emperor Kang Xi in the 17th century, who thought the tea resembled tiny green snails. Bi Luo Chun is one of China's famous rare teas. Only a bud and leaf (in our scenario only a bud!) is being hand-picked once a year from mid-March to mid-April. It takes 60,000 to 80,000 leaf/bud sets to produce one pound of finished Bi Luo Chun tea.
Legend:
For centuries this very famous aromatic light green tea was known by the name Xia Sha Ren Xiang (Astounding Fragrance). A legend explains why. Once in the distant past, some pickers of a particularly good crop filled their baskets before they were ready to go home. Wanting to carry more leaves, they stuffed the excess inside their tunics. Warmed by body heat, the leaves began to give off a rich aroma. “I was astounded,” many pickers said, and the name stuck.
Sometime in the late seventeenth or early eighteenth century while on an inspection of his realm, Emperor Kang Xi visited the Lake Taihu area in Zhejiang province and his host presented him with this tea. Striking the Emperor as a tea of purity he asked the name. “Astounding Fragrance” was his host’s reply. The Emperor, with disdain, replied that such a name for this treasure was vulgar and an insult. Ordering the unused leaves brought for his examination, the Emperor declared that a more fitting name would be Green Snail Spring because the rolled shape looked like a snail shell.