Beantown Tea describes this green tea as “resembling snail meat,” but don’t let that deter you. Put the snail thing aside and give this a try.
This green tea is on the very airy end of green, practically a white. In fact, some of the balls’ coloring is white, and fuzzy, which means it was plucked early in the season.
The flavor’s balances green and white: a mix of earth, leaves, pollen, and electricity.
This tea tastes like a moon setting and dawn’s birds chirping. It tastes like waking up very, very early for an event and walking toward your car in the meandering morning breeze, everyone asleep around you. It’s being the only person at the intersection at 5 a.m.
I got this tea from Etsy, and there was a mix-up with my address (my fault, not theirs). The customer service, I have to let you know, was TOP-NOTCH. They followed up and offered to send me a follow-up package right away — even though the mistake was NOT their fault. GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE. (The second package wasn’t necessary; the post office on my end figured out what to do. It arrived safely.)
Thumbs-up on this one. I have another one I’m going to try in the next week or so!
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Beantown Tea and Spices
Description
Bi Luo Chun is regarded as one of the best green tea China offers. It brews a refreshing cup that is floral, slightly earthy with nutty notes. Bi Luo Chun literally means “green snail spring”. It is called “green snail spring” because it is a green tea that is hand rolled into a tight spiral, resembling snail meat, and is plucked and produced early spring. The annual productions span of the Bi Luo Chun is very short. It is picked between the Spring Equinox (end of March) and Qing Ming (early April). Our ‘Choral Bi Luo Chun’ tea is made from the finest tender buds, gathered and processed exclusively by hand.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Bi Luo Chun Green Tea from Green Terrace Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Green Terrace Teas
Tea Description:
While most Bi Luo Chun is grown in Jiangsu Province, China, this unique cultivar grown in Taiwan has bigger leaves and is picked slightly earlier in the year. As a non-fermented green tea, it is rich in antioxidants and other natural chemicals that promote various health benefits, including reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer. Bi Luo Chun is sweet and fruity in flavor, with notes of peach and a mildly vegetal aftertaste.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Oh this is lovely!
When I think “Bi Luo Chun” – I think of the tiny conchin shell shaped leaves from China. These leaves are larger, not as curly and darker in color.
It tastes different too. This has a sweet, buttery and vegetal taste. The buttery tones are profound and lend a soft, almost creamy texture to the cup. The vegetal tones are slightly grassy, somewhere between grass and lima bean. No sharpness to the grassy notes and no bitterness. This is a sweet grassy taste.
The sweetness is somewhat fruity, although I find myself struggling with trying to pinpoint what kind of fruit notes I’m tasting … melon, perhaps? It’s got the juicy sweetness of a melon but not the flavor of one. Perhaps a melon that’s been pressed for the juice and then that juice was mixed with rainwater and dew drops, enough so that the flavor of the melon becomes obscured but the sweetness of it remains.
There is some astringency to this. I feel a slightly dry sensation toward the tail. But it is very slight. I noticed a little more astringency in the second cup (second infusion) than I did in the first, but in both infusions, the astringency was very light.
To brew this tea, I measured a bamboo scoop of the leaf into the basket of my Kati tumbler and poured 12 ounces of water heated to 180°F. I let it steep for 2 minutes. The liquid is a pale golden-green and has a very faint vegetal aroma.
These leaves resteep well. I brewed a second cup much the way I brewed the first (adding 30 seconds onto the steep time) and sipped the second cup with just as much enjoyment as I experienced with the first cup. Still sweet and delicious. The texture is a little lighter in the second cup. The first cup was a little creamier than the second, although the second did have lighter creamy notes. I found that the second one felt more refreshing because it was a little crisper and lighter. Both infusions were delicious and it’s well worth the resteep!
Blue Spring Bi Luo Chun from Teasenz
Tea Type:
Green Tea
Where To Buy:
Teasenz
Product Description:
AROMATIC, SMOOTH AND MELLOW : Listed on virtually every list of the 10 Most Famous Chinese Teas, the Bi Luo Chun green tea is renowned for its fruity taste and lingering floral aroma. Its name, literally meaning “Blue Snail Spring” is originated from its delicate spiral shape which resembles a snail house .
Tasters Review:
Don’t let the first few lines of this review trick you! I want to start off by saying I have had some horrible Bi Luo Chun experiences in my day…BUT THIS IS NOT ONE OF THEM! This is a fabulous Bi Luo Chun from Teasenz. They call it “Blue Spring” and it’s lovely! Dry – this is VERY fuzzy and fine. “Cut” more precise than the others I have seen. The aroma is incredibly fresh and lively!
Once I was finished infusing this it left a creamy mellow shade of yellow/light-green.
The flavor is fresher than most of the other Bi Luo Chun’s I have had and I want to certainly point that out! It’s not bitter at all! It has a somewhat juicy-sweet yet slightly herbal and green-ish taste to it.
This may be the best Bi Luo Chun I have had to date! This is a goodie!
Bi Luo Chun Green Tea (Pi Lo Chun) from Teavivre
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Tea Description:
Made only from tea leaf tips in an involved process that results in it having a tight rolled up shape, Bi Luo Chun is renowned for its strong fruity aroma and mellow flavour. A plantation growing Bi Luo Chun is amazing to visit, with the tea plants mixed in with a variety of fragrant fruit trees to give the tea its aroma and taste. TeaVivre’s Bi Luo Chun is premium grade direct from the slopes of Dong Ting mountain, has a bright green color and strong almost citrus aroma to it. An amazing tea!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I do enjoy a good Bi Luo Chun (or Pi Lo Chun) and this Bi Luo Chun Green Tea from Teavivre is as good as it gets!
The aroma of the dry leaf is absolutely lovely. It reminds me of Orange County, California when I was young – back when orange groves were still everywhere. When the orange trees were blossoming, I would love to visit the orange groves and experience the fragrance of the air. So beautifully aromatic – just like this tea!
The flavor is superb. The taste is fresh … like sweet, freshly steamed veggies that have been accented with fruit. The fruit tones are not quite as acidic as a citrus fruit would be … I’m getting more of a sweet, fruity note here and less of a tangy one, although there is a tangy note that comes forward right at the tail. Almost like a cross between an orange and a melon. Yummy!
There is a creaminess to the texture as well, but, not so much a buttery taste or texture … it’s a very light creamy texture that melds well with the light vegetal tones.
This is one of those teas that I could drink happily every day. It is so refreshing and delicious hot or iced, but I prefer it hot simply because more of the nuances come forward with the hot tea. As it cools, some of those lighter notes seem to mute.
Another EXCEPTIONAL tea from a company that continually delivers exceptional products – Teavivre!
Taiwan Sansia Bi Luo Chun Green Tea from Nuvola Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Nuvola Tea
Tea Description:
Sansia Bi Luo Chun is a green tea known for its emerald green colour and a light body. It yields a mild and smooth flavour, and produces a fresh subtle scent and a delicate taste. The tea can help boosting the immune system as it is naturally rich in antioxidants Catechin and Vitamin C.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I was kind of surprised when I first opened the pouch of this tea. I think I expected smaller leaves … but these leaves are a little bit larger than I thought they’d be, and they are very deeply green, like somewhere on the color wheel between forest green and emerald green. Very deep and vividly green!
The leaves brew a really pretty, light yellow-green liquid that offers a very “green” aroma. It smells very vegetative, like a cross between seaweed and steamed vegetables, with just a touch of freshly cut grass. It’s a very fresh, green fragrance! 
The flavor is also “green” … although it doesn’t taste quite as green as the aroma lead me to believe it would. It has a bright flavor that tastes of very lightly buttered veggies … it is a very refreshing taste. It tastes clean and pure, and I feel invigorated as I sip it. It has a delicate sweetness to it, and a certain crispness to the cup that seems to revive and stimulate the palate.
It has a slightly nutty tone to it as well, with notes that remind me of a warm, whole grain like a cross between farro and oats. Very warm and almost nourishing … although it seems strange for me to describe a tea as “nourishing!” I guess it is a healthy beverage, so it is nourishing, but I’ve never really consumed tea for it’s health benefits, but for its delicious flavor.
As I continue to explore the flavors in this tea, I notice a slight citrus-y note that I described before as a “bright taste.” It started out just tasting very bright – almost sunny! – and now the citrus notes seem to emerge slightly as I near the end of the cup. It isn’t a strong or even obvious citrus note, but, it’s a barely there kind of taste that keeps the palate interested in what its tasting.
A very rewarding cuppa … this tea offers a gentle sort of energy to it that makes it an excellent choice for afternoon, when you’re needing something to help enliven the senses. This tea seems to have brought a renewed vigor to my day!