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!
Pi Lo Chun from Empire Tea Services
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Empire Tea Services
Tea Description:
Small down covered leaves are curled into spiral shapes. Also called “Green Snail Spring”. Two infusions. Great taste.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is an AWESOME Pi Lo Chun!
The flavor is sweet and very fresh – like the new green-ness of springtime! It has a clean, vegetative taste. Not what I’d categorize as “grassy,” I’d describe this as steamed, mild-tasting vegetables. There is a cream-like taste to this, but not so much a buttery creaminess, instead, this is like sweet cream.
There is also a hint of flower in the distance. Imagine, if you would, standing in the middle of a vegetable garden that is in the state of harvest. The vegetables are fresh and young, and there is a blooming patch of flowers nearby. Now, imagine what that air might smell like … might taste like. There you have what I’m experiencing now with this delicious Pi Lo Chun.
This is exquisitely refreshing to sip, sweet with no bitterness to interrupt the sip. The astringency is quite low, in fact, I found myself having to search for it to recognize it, as it was so subtle that I didn’t notice it outright. This tea simply wants you to focus on it’s lovely sweet flavors, and does nothing to stand in the way of that.
I highly recommend this Pi Lo Chun to all tea drinkers, if this one isn’t already in your tea cupboard … it should be!
Eight Oasis Blend from Praise Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green, White & Pu-erh Teas
Where to Buy: Praise Tea
Tea Description:
Our combination of Sencha, Gunpowder, Mini Tuo, Chun Mee, Pai Mu Tan, Lung Ching, Snow Bud, Pi Lo Chun, candied pineapple and strawberry takes you to an oasis of delight. Delectable both hot and cold. Try some with white crystal sugar. Indulge your taste buds.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
After a quick glance at this tea’s ingredient list, I thought that this tea may just have a little too much going on. It smelled intriguing, though, with its delicious notes of strawberry and pineapple, so I decided to give it a try.
And somehow, this massive list of ingredients works together very well! While it is next to impossible to pick out each individual tea’s characteristics, I can taste the fresh, vegetative flavor of green tea, a light earthy quality from the tuocha, and I can even taste notes that are very much like white tea – notes of hay and that crisp, airy quality that is often noted in white tea.
The strawberry and pineapple notes are less distinctive than the flavors of the tea, but, that’s alright. In fact, I find it to be quite refreshing to have the tea as the center focus in this cup, and have the fruit flavors to serve as accent notes to enliven the overall flavor. The place where the fruit really stands out is in the aftertaste, where I can taste the flavors of both the pineapple and the strawberry.
This tea does have a natural sweetness to it, so I would recommend tasting before you sweeten. I did end up adding just a pinch of sugar which helped to enhance the fruit notes more than sweeten the cup. Without the sugar, the fruit notes fall a little flat … they’re still present, but, just not as lively as with a pinch of sugar.
This one makes a nice iced tea too. I recommend steeping it at least twice, as it is even tastier with the second infusion.
Pi Lo Chun from Drink T
Tea Type: Green Tea
Where To Buy: Drink T
Product Description:
One of the rarest of green teas, Pi Lo Chun is grown in orchards amongst fruit trees. The sweet fragrance of the fruit blossoms are absorbed by the tea leaves while growing. The short harvest season, from the Spring Equinox (end of March) to the Clear Brightness (early April), also contributes to its exclusivity.
Our Pi Lo Chun uses only the finest, most tender leaves. It’s hand picked and processed in the higher elevations of Taiwan where the tea bushes are shrouded in mist and kept cool by the high mountain air.
Sweet and crisp, this tea is well rounded and will finish with a clean, lingering taste.
Bring water to point of steam (170-180)
Steep Time: 2 – 3 Minutes
Number of Infusions: 1 – 2
Sweetener: Optional
Cream: No
Caffeine: Moderate
Tasters Review:
On my personal rating level – I have this currently set at an 89.
It has a slight buttered veggie scent but it doesn’t really taste like buttered veggies. It’s not grassy at all! I like that! I like that it sort of fakes you out! It’s also sweet but even a little floral. The Finish and after taste are both sweet and clean!
Don’t let this one pass you by – or you pass it by, rather! It’s a nice cuppa!
