Choose Authentic Dongting Bi Luo Chun Green Tea

Bi luo chun green tea is produced in Dongting mountains, Taihu Lake, Wuxian , Jiangsu.  Known as one of the 10 Chinese famous teas, Bi luo chun’s original name is “Xia Sha Ren Xiang” because of its strong fragrance.  During the Qing dynasty the Emperor Kangxi made his rounds to Dongting in the south and he tasted many different teas.  He tasted the “Xia Sha Ren Xiang” and loved it, but he thought the name was a harsh name so Emperor Kangxi gave it the new name “ Bi Luo Chun”.  From then on, bi luo chun was known as a royal tea and became famous.

In Dongting bi luo chun’s tea garden is a famous place where tea trees and fruit trees grow together in China.  Tea trees are planted together with peach, plum, apricot and other fruit trees. This is what gives bi luo chun the fruity aroma when you brew it.

Bi luo chun tea strips are in the shape of a spiral.  Bi luo chun is very tender and covered with white tips.  After it is brewed bi luo chun is olive in color and bright.  Because bi luo chun has more tips in the leaves than normal tea it will be waving around in the water as it brews.  Bi luo chun has a very delicious fragrance, and it tastes fresh, mellow, making the first sip unforgettable.  Bi luo chun is famous all around the world for its beautiful appearance, bright color, aroma, and mellow taste.  Bi luo chun comes just after Dragon Well in the list of famous teas.  It is not easy to find authentic Dongting bi luo chun, as many it is very hard for novice tea drinkers to tell the difference between real and fake.  Teavivre has set up this guide to teach you how to distinguish authentic bi luo chun teas, from fake.

The characteristics of bi luo chun are: tea strips are dry and are shaped like spirals, covered with white tips, with a simple and elegant fragrance often smelling like fruit or citrus, and the bottom of leaf is green and bright.

Identifying Different Parts of Bi Luo Chun:
Smell the dry tea: Bi luo chun tea trees planted along side of fruit tea trees, so Dongting bi luo chun will have a strong flower smell as well as sweet fruit smell.  Fake bi luo chun often will often have a fresh cut grass smell.
Compare the appearance: The color of Dongting bi luo chun is soft a bright green, covered with white tips.  Imitation bi luo chun looks very green, dark, and the tips are green instead of white.

Watch the Tea: The liquid of bi luo chun is soft yellow bright or olive bright.  The lower level or grade of bi luo chun, the brightness of it will be lower. But the dummy bi luo chun is yellow and dark.

Smell the LiquidTea: The tea of Dongting bi luo chun is of a simple fragrance and it will linger for quite awhile.  Following the lower levels, the fragrance will be shorter and weaker.  All false teas will have simple grass aromas.

Taste bi luo chun: Dongting bi luo chun tastes fresh, and light.  There will be a little sweet aftertaste and will quench your thirst, it is quite unforgettable.  The lower the grade of tea, the taste will be weaker but it will still leave an unforgettable impact.  Bi luo chun that is falsely advertised will be thin and even bitter.
Watch the bottom of leaf: Dongting bi luo chun’s bottom of leaf is soft green and bright, and well-proportioned. Following the lower grade levels, the brightness will be less.  Fake tea is dark, and is a lot older than Dongting bi luo chun.

Now you need to know how to brew it, please check Teavivre’s article How to Brew Bi Luo Chun.