What Is A Tea Pet? 17 Styles’ Symbolizes, Not Only For Good Luck

 If you got a friend who loves deeply Chinese tea culture, you might see there is a little doll on his tea tray. He may say it is called Tea Pet, a mate he is drinking tea with. Take good care of it, and it may bring good luck. Actually, a tea pet is not a simple decoration. If you also want to buy one for fun, you must keep reading this article; a wrong selection may influence your fortune badly.

What It A Tea Pet?

A tea pet is usually seen in the traditional Chinese tea ceremony. It’s a small decoration on the tea tray, typically made from clay. To describe as a playmate may be more exact because it is not a usual teaware and not a necessary of the tea ceremony. There common tea pets style are:

• Animals, primary are the twelve Chinese zodiac signs;
• Monsters in the ancient Chinese myth;
• Buddhist roles like Maitreya or little monks;
• Some modern cartoon figures;

A tea pet is a decoration set on the tea tray for fun

Common Tea Pets Materials

People typically shower the tea pet with the wastewater of washing the tea and teaware or the cooldown tea infusion in the fair cup. Then wiping it gently when chatting over cups of tea with friends. As the days pass, the tea pet’s color will change into the same as the tea; people called it “raising.”

So, during the whole tea-drinking, tea pets will not affect the tea in your cup. Thus, compare with teawares, it has more choices on the materials. But for matching the tea sets style, tea pets typically made from the following:

Clay

Most tea pets are made from clay; among them, Zisha(purple sand) is the most welcome, and they all got an original earth color. Most common Gongfu teawares include teapot, tea tray, teacup, and the fair cup are made from clay because of the excellent insulation performance. To unify the style, tea pets follow the same material. Besides, the many tiny pores on the clay wares’ surface help the “raising” job better and will not be a visual conflict of the clay and tea color.

Porcelain

The porcelain tea pets got many color glazes, look more elegant and beautiful than the clay ones with original earth color. But they are not much popular than the clay ones in the traditional tea lovers groups. Because the smooth surface makes it more difficult for the tea pet raising, and once it got the tea color, it will also look not such comfortable. Suppose you have no plan to raise a tea pet, the porcelain one also a nice choice.

Related Reading: The difference between ceramic teaware and porcelain teaware.

Sand

It’s not the ordinary sand from the beach; it’s the silt from the Yellow River, which has been through processing and also called Chengni. The sand tea pet’s surface is rough but looks full east style.

Resin

Resin is a modern chemical material with great plasticity and low cost. In the beginning, people made tea pet with resin is because want to imitate the style and texture of jade; the real jade is too expensive and can not resist the high temperature. Later, people found that adding some other special chemical material in the resin can make it color-changing when heating by hot water, and back into the original color after cool down. It can not only make more fun during tea-drinking and can help judge the water temperature according to the color-changing.

The resin tea pet will change its color by the hot water showering

Metal

Metal tea pets are hard to see because they are easy to be oxidized. Most of the time, metal tea pets are just taken as decorations on the tea tray, and you can not shower them.

What Is A Tea Pet Used For?

There aren’t any historical records that tell when did Chinese start to play with tea pets. Yixing is regarded as the tea pet’s birthplace because most of them are made from Zisha. The local craftsmen might make some small animals with the leftover material for fun, and some tea lovers buy them away when choosing teawares. Then tea pets got known more by people.

In the beginning, people set a tea pet on a tea tray is just for having more fun during tea drinking. When the chatting gets awkward silent, take a shower to the tea pet with tea may defuse embarrassment. Or just take it as a negotiation strategy, like Vito Corleone played with the cat when talking with Bonasera.

Later, along with tea pets get popular, there comes more and more style. Like every idolatry act of every religion on the earth, people shape the tea pet into what their believed symbolize. And hope to get what they want by praying in the “raising” way. Of course, the same as the teapot’s case, some tea lovers just raising a tea pet to prove how they love tea.

A tea pet that has been raising for many years

Common Tea Pet Styles & What Their Symbolisms – Not Only For Good Luck

In China, you can see how is one people’s character and what he desired from the tea pet he set on the tea tray. If you want to buy a tea pet, you’d better know what the style’s symbolism is, or your friends may misunderstand your character and desire.

Zodiac

Chinese use twelve animals to mark the years. It’s called twelve zodiacs, and people also use it to introduce when they were born. Most of the time, the animal tea pet on the tea tray is the same as the host’s zodiac. Each animal symbolizes:

• Rat. Rat’s Chinese pronunciation is similar to count, which means the untold wealth;
• Ox. Everybody might hear the word “Niubi“(ox), which shows admiration in Chinese. Now in the stock market, everyone loves the bull market;
• Tiger. It is for showing stateliness, typically no one will take it as a tea pet;
• Rabbit. Without any special meaning, it just looks cute;
• Dragon. Dragon is the Chinese totem and means a lot. It brings hope, safety and can exorcise evil spirits. When you shower the hot tea on the dragon tea pet, it looks like floating on the cloud;
• Snake. Both in the west and the east culture, snake all means cunning and evil. Except for the one who born in the snake year, no others will take a snake style tea pet;
• Horse. The horse represents hardworking and strives in Chinese culture;
• Sheep. Without any special meaning;
• Monkey. In Chinese culture, monkey means dexterous and wisdom;
• Rooster. Without any special meaning;
• Dog. The dog represents loyal. But people choose a dog tea pet typically is because it is lovely;
• Pig. The fatty and cutely little pig means rich and happy;

The Chinese twelve zodiacs style tea pets, how many can you identify

Maitreya

Buddhism has a big influence in China. If the tea pet is in the style of Bodhidharma, Buddha, Maitreya, or little monk, that may mean the host is a Buddhist; or perhaps he is a people like quiet and meditation. There is also a kind of tea pet is a Buddha’s foot, and what is praying for is rich.

Happy little monk

Ancient Monsters

The monsters in the ancient Chinese myth are most popular in the tea pet designer. Except for their symbolism, in another traditional Chinese culture – Feng Shui, they also mean a lot.

The myth monster tea pets must be set at the right place and angle according to Feng Shui. Like the host’s birthday, property, name, the direction of windows and door, etc., it’s very complicated. If setting a tea pet in the wrong place, it is said will counter-productive to what you pray for.

Pi Xiu. In the myth, Pi Xiu is the ninth son of Dragon. It doesn’t have an anus and loves to eat jewelry, only intake but not excrete. So people regarded it as the symbol of accumulated wealth. Many businessmen set a Pi Xiu tea pet on their tea tray and pray that it will make them rich. Besides, Pi Xiu is believed it can protect the house too.

Pi Xiu doesn’t have an anus

Golden Toad. It is a golden toad with a coin in its mouth, has only three legs, and is also for pray wealth. The coin in most golden toad tea pet’s mouth is rotatable. It will make more fun, and in Chinese, it also means earning money.

Three-legs golden toad with a coin in the mouth

Kylin. Kylin is a kind monster; its style combines the dragon head, deer body, bull tail, and horse hoof. Kylin is as important as Dragon in Chinese culture. It can also bring people good luck, fertility blessing, and exorcise evil spirits.

Kylin style

Ordinary Animals

Some ordinary animals like elephants, lions, and cats, even though they don’t belong to the twelve zodiacs and myth monsters, tea pets in their style also popular. Elephants symbolize rich, and lions help exorcise evil spirits. Although cats can also bring fortune, the most reason people love them is the cute look.

Little Kids

Some tea pets are also in the adorable kid’s style; they are for good luck. The most famous one is the pee-pee boy, which with a marvelous design. Its body is empty inside. Suppose you add water in before drinking tea and shower it with the hot infusion. In that case, the water will jet out through the little boy’s wiener because of the pressure differential, like peeing.

There still many tea pets in various styles, like the peach, a symbol of long-living. Some of them even combine the function of other teawares like tea tools six gentlemen and got some practicality.

Pee-pee boy

Maintain, How To Raise A Tea Pet

Raising a tea pet doesn’t mean feeding it with food. Except for showering it when drinking tea, it must be maintained well as the other teawares at the ordinary times, make it become more unique. Tea lovers summed up 4 tips from their years’ tea pet raising experiences:

Scrubbing the tea pet with a brush gently

1. Typically after we buy a Zisha teapot home, we may put it in a pot cooking with water for a while to remove the earthy smell. But tea pet will not touch the tea we drink directly; it does not need to do this. And the boiling water may make the tea pet roll in the pot and break its delicate carving;
2. We need to shower the tea pet with tea infusion for raising, but it doesn’t mean doing it like washing a car. The shower action must be gentle. Remember to scrub it with a brush or towel and let the infusion cover the tea pet’s surface equally. Imagine that you are massaging it;
3. The deep-fermented tea with a darker color like black tea and dark tea can make the tea pet get the tea color faster than other teas. If it is possible, it will be better just to shower a tea pet with one type of tea. Showering a tea pet with different teas often may make it a disunity color and looks ugly;
4. Never steep the tea pet in the infusion for a long time attempt to let it get the color soon. Doing this way, all you will get is just a thick and ugly tea stain and a bad smell;

Huangshan Maofeng – One Of The 10 Famous Chinese Teas

 High-quality tea always comes from a good natural environment. Huangshan, one of 10 famous Chinese mountains, fog covers all around, and strange pine trees grow alone on the steep hills. Poets and tourists praised this unique scenery since the old time. Villages under the mountain, folks running small and big tea plantations. A tea regarded as “the fairy of the tea” – Huangshan Maofeng is from here.

Huangshan Maofeng tea is one of the 10 famous Chinese tea

About Huangshan Maofeng

What Is Maofeng Tea

All among various Chinese famous teas, many are called Maofeng, such as Emei Maofeng, Meng Ding Maofeng, and Huangguoshu Maofeng. Mao is to describe the tiny white fuzz on the leaves, and Feng means Mountain, which refers to the tea that comes from the Mountains at a high altitude. So some tea shops also call Huangshan Maofeng as Huangshan Fur Peak Tea.

Huangshan Maofeng is the most famous one. It belongs to the non-fermented green tea, originated in Huangshan Mountain, Anhui. Its leaves show a jade green, little curly like the bird’s tongue. A small yellow leaf which too late to bloom is beside the bud and called “Golden Piece.” A delicate plant’s scent given from the dried leaves smells like the orchid.

Every bud of Huangshan Maofeng tea has a yellow leaf beside

Producing Regions

Many excellent teas are from Anhui, like Keemun Black Tea, Taiping Houkui, Huoshan Huangya, and Lu’an Gua Pian. As the most famous geographical indication of Anhui, the natural environment of Huangshan is no doubt the best. It is about 1800m altitude, “strange pine tree, weird stones, cloud sea, and hot spring” are the characteristic landscape here.

Hills covered by fog, and pine trees growing on the rock

The hills here are high to the moon, with a thick fog; if you climb to the top, you may feel like standing on the cloud. Dangerous and steep hills like this can not impede the plants growing; pine trees clung tenaciously to lives on the rock, looks like the mythical immortals.

Of course, Huangshan Maofeng is not planted in such a high place; to harvest will be a problem. Tea plantations are located at the hillside at about 800m altitude, where the climate is more comfortable. Tangkou, Gangcun, Yangcun, Fangcun are the 4 main top-grade Huangshan Maofeng producing plantations, honored as “4 great families.”

The temperature still cold here, the annual average only 15-16℃, rainy and moist. There’s a local folk saying, “good tea comes from the high and foggy mountain.” The annual sunshine duration is very short because of the fog reason, tea trees would not be hurt from the fierce sun and can accumulate the nutrient better; thus, it can create an awesome flavor.

History

Huangshan has a long tea-producing history. The Chinese tea culture was most prosperous in the Tang Dynasty; the tea style was block tea. In Song Dynasty, the local tea masters added the rolling step in the green tea processing, shaping the leaves a beautiful appearance. 

The plantations are covered by fog all year long. So the teas produced here are also called Huangshan Yun Wu Tea, which is regarded as the predecessor of Huangshan Maofeng.

According to the local chronicles, Huangshan Maofeng was invented by Mr. Xie Zhengan, the founder of Xie Yu Da Tea Shop in the Qing Dynasty (about 1875). 

The old Xie Yu Da tea shop

At that time, he wanted to satisfy the market requirement better. So he picking sources leaves from the Tangkou and Chongcun plantations, then processing in great green tea by the optimized methods, and name it Maofeng.

In the past, Maofeng tea ever spread worldwide through the Maritime Silk Road and got fame. Unfortunately, Xie Yu Da Tea Shop was a decline in the 1920s because of bad management. But that did not have any bad effect on the Maofeng tea; it developed into a public brand increasingly and renamed Huangshan Maofeng officially. In 1955, Huangshan Maofeng was rated as one of the ten Chinese famous teas.

Camellia Sinensis Varieties

Tianhu tea plantation, where was Mr. Xie Zhengan set up in Chongcun village at that time, was regarded as the birthplace of Huangshan Maofeng. All the tea trees planted here are the Huangshan native species – Huangshan species. It is a bush, big-leaf type Camellia Sinensis, with a long growth cycle and can accumulate more nutrients.

Over 100 years have passed, these tea trees are still living tenaciously. But due to their buds sprout late that can not catch up with the spring tea publish time. So, most of them have been forgotten in the deep forests, only a few tea masters picking leaves from them for the pre-order by the senior tea lovers.

In most tea lovers’ minds, the newborn bud tea in spring is always the best. I cannot say that is wrong. Chinese classified the teas according to the traditional solar term, like Mingqian Cha(harvest before 5th, April) and Yuqian Cha(harvest before 20th, April). The Huangshan type Camellia Sinensis is exactly sprouting during this time. Still, it is almost impossible to hit the market by these dates.

Thus, just like other famous green tea-producing regions, the Huangshan tea plantations also introduced Wuniu and Hongqi species tea trees, which are sprout earlier. Their leaves also taste fantastic, but they are not resistant to brew due to the small-leaf reason.

The native species leaves are bigger

Processing

The processing of Huangshan Maofeng tea is not so difficult as other teas, but it is also quite characteristic. Just like traditional green tea processing, primarily been through picking, fixation, rolling, and drying.

Picking

Huangshan Maofeng’s primary harvest time is in April; some early sprout tea trees even can start picked in mid or late March. Harvest job end at Lixia(5th, May). According to the picking standards, Huangshan Maofeng is classified into the following grades:

• Top Grade – One bud and the just bloom first-leaf;
• First Grade – One bud and to the just bloom second-leaf;
• Second Grade – One bud and to the second-leaf;
• Third Grade – One bud and to the third-leaf;

The most significant feature of the Top Grade Huangshan Maofeng is the just-bloom first-leaf of it, which shows yellow and is called as “Golden Piece.” 

About this first-leaf, some people thought it is the resulting from the tea trees accumulating rich nutrients in winter. And some others thought that might because of the dehydration during processing and turn yellow. Undeniable, the Huangshan Maofeng with “Golden Piece” is indeed harvested before Qingming.

Fixation

Fresh leaves will be fixating immediately after picking to stop them from going on natural fermentation. The most traditional way is to put the leaves in a special iron bucket, with charcoal fire heating, and keep shaking it. Leaves rolling inside the bucket till they lost gloss. That’s got the same theory with the modern fixation machine, but the modern one is electric and automated. Some tea masters also take a more common method, such as pan-frying for fixation.

Rolling

Most green teas will be sent to a pan under low temperature for rolling after fixation. But in Huangshan Maofeng rolling processing, leaves after fixation will be placed on slate or a bamboo sieve, rolling slowly by tea masters. The operation should be gentle not to let the fuzz drop down and make the leaves lose their value.

Tea master rolling leaves on a slate

Drying

Finally, leaves must be drying. Tea masters place the leaves on a special bamboo cage, with charcoal fire below, drying them slowly until the water content reduces to about 15%. Some traditional tea masters will use a wooden cabinet instead of a cage for the roasting job.

Further Processing

Leaves that have been through all the above 3 steps are called rough tea, which is done in tea masters’ families. But the water content and quality are still far away from the market standard. So the tea factories will purchase these rough teas for further processing – screen, reroast, and so on, then package for sale.

How Does Huangshan Maofeng Tea Taste Like

Huangshan Maofeng dried leaves’ appearance is not so attractive; they show jade green, curly into strips. Because of the just bloom first-leaf, they retain some tea stems inevitably. If brewing it with a glass cup, you can see the leaves bloom in water slowly, along with the rising steam, just like a beautiful fairy dancing.

The infusion of Huangshan Maofeng tea shows a light yellow, clean and bright. The fragrance is not obvious; it is a delicate orchid aroma, elegant and fresh. Because of the roasting drying, there also some fried beans aroma mixed in the floral.

The infusion is clear and light

Take a little sip, it’s a brisk and smooth mouthfeel, and the orchid scent becomes more obvious. It tastes a little bitter, astringency, and roasted chestnuts; about two seconds later, a slight sweetness aftertaste comes. 

On the whole saying, Huangshan Maofeng tea has a very light and quiet flavor, so the ancient Chinese ever described it as “the fairy of the tea.” To the people who need a peace mind on meditating or studying, Huangshan Maofeng will be a nice tea.

How To Make Huangshan Maofeng Tea

1. Prepare and preheat a 300ml white ceramic Gaiwan;
2. Put 3-5g leaves in, then add 85℃ water in on a ratio of leaves to water 1:50;
3. Cover and steep for about 20 seconds;
4. Pour the infusion into a fair cup to equal the concentration;
5. Share to every cup and enjoy;

Most Huangshan Maofeng teas on the market are not from the native species tea trees, so that they typically not resistant to brew. After the first brew, every following round can extend about 20 seconds of steeping time. Still, it will lose all the flavor after the fifth brew.

Storage Way

Huangshan Maofeng is a non-fermented green tea; typically, it’s not suitable for long-time storage. The recommended expiration date is also 12-18 months. Even though it exceeds the date limit, the flavor will not have a significant change soon; but you still need to finish it ASAP. During the Huangshan Maofeng storage, the following points should be taking care of:

Airtightness. If the tea you bought is with an individually sealed package, you don’t need to worry about the airtightness problem. But if it is a big package, once you unwrap it and take the leaves out, you need to squeeze all the air out as you can then seal it OK again. Or choose a suitable container for storage.

Related Reading: Choose the best tea storage container for loose leaf tea.

Keep Dry. The dried leaves are easy to absorb the water in the air. After ensuring the airtightness of the package, you still need to take care of the ambient humidity, avoiding the leaves get damp and moldy.

Low Temperature. Huangshan Maofeng tea is suitable to store at a place under 5℃; a fridge looks a good choice. Suppose you are going to store the tea in the fridge. In that case, it will be better to do with a container, even though it had already had an individually sealed package. Besides, check the smell from other foods in the fridge, whether it is serious, avoiding the leaves’ flavor get polluted.

Keep Dark. To the non-fermented or light fermented tea, the sunshine is a risk which easy to be ignored. A long time of direct sunlight will make the leaves photochemical reactions, lead to loss the color and flavor. Besides, it also leads to a high-temperature problem.

Unique Planting Way Makes Biluochun Tea A Charming Fruity Flavor

 Green tea lovers may ever hear about Biluochun, which is one of the Chinese 10 famous teas. It looks like an emerald, curly caterpillar, full of tiny white fuzz. Biluochun is made from the tenderest buds shoot in the early spring. It is said that the most top-grade one costs 60-70 thousand buds per 0.5kg, so it consistently at a high price.

What Is Biluochun Tea

Biluochun tea is originated in Dongting Mountain of the Taihu region, Jiangsu, also called Dongting Biluochun. That place has over a thousand years of tea-producing history, and it is said that tea produced here is always as a royal tribute since Tang Dynasty. Biluochun has a full fruity aroma. As a kind of green teas, this is uncommon. In the past time, due to this great aroma, Biluochun is also called “Xia Sha Ren Xiang“(a robust fragrant to shocking people.)

Biluochun is famous green tea made from the tender leaves

Names Legends

Biluochun is pronounced /biː/, /lɔ:/, /tʃʌn/. About this name, there are 3 explains.

The most realistic saying is the name comes from the tea’s appearance and characteristics. In Chinese, “Bi” means green; “Luo” describes the leaves’ spiral shape, looks like the pattern of the trumpet shell; and “Chun” refers to spring.

One of the legends is about beautiful love. It is said that there was a boy named Xiang who lived in the east Dongting Mountain, and a girl named Biluo lived in the west side; they were in love. But one day, an evil dragon appeared in Taihu Lake, and he wants to grab the girl as his bride. The boy fought with the dragon to save his love. Finally, they both down.

Girl Biluo didn’t give up. She picked up leaves and making them into tea as a medicine for curing her boy. Finally, the boy recovered. But the girl was unlucky; she died because of overwork. The boy was so sad, then he took care of the tea tree, which saves his life, and names it Biluo, to remember the girl forever.

Another story tells, there was a bumper harvest of tea in Taihu producing region. A girl found her basket was full when she was still picking leaves, so she stored the leaves in her dress. After she came home and took out the leaves, she found them sending a great aroma because of the heat of her body. The girl was shocked and shouted, “This aroma is too terrifying!” Since that, the local people have called this tea “Xia Sha Ren Xiang.”

Later, the Kangxi Emperor went to Taihu for inspecting, and the local official served him with the tea. Kangxi loved the tea much, but he thought that the name is no so elegant and did not match its characteristics. So he granted this tea a new name Biluochun.

Producing Regions

No matter how the legends say, Biluochun is no doubt originated in the Dongting Mountain of Taihu. Worthing to know, people may easily confuse this place with the Dongting Lake in Hunan; that is the origins of the Junshan Yinzhen yellow tea. And Biluochun’s fame is too big indeed, many other places in China also producing it. But only the one made from the Taihu Dongting Mountain is regarded as the most authentic by tea lovers.

The region is also divided into east Dongting Mountain and west Dongting Mountain. The east one is a peninsula near Taihu Lake, and the west one is a small island in the lake. The climate is humid subtropical monsoon, moist and warm, and an excellent natural environment suitable for the tea trees growing.

Suppose you wonder what contributes to the excellent flavor of Biluochun tea. In that case, one of the biggest reasons is its unique planting way. In Biluochun tea plantations, there are not only tea trees, but many varieties of fruit are planting; waxberry, pipa, bergamot, peach, and so on.

Biluochun tea trees and fruit trees are planting side by side

Due to the Biluochun primary harvest season is spring, and the leaves quality is not so good in the other seasons. Planting fruit trees can help the local farmers earn more money. The teas and fruit trees grow side by side, roots and branches are twisted together, share the nutrient and flavor. So Biluochun tastes with a fruity flavor, and it’s rarely among all the green teas.

Camellia Sinensis Varieties

Biluochun’s source leaves are primary from 3 varieties of tea trees.

Native Species. This is a kind of native small-leaf Camellia Sinensis. The Biluochun tea produced from it is regarded as the most authentic. It sprouts relatively late, typically can’t be harvested until Qingming (5th April.) But it tastes the most mellow and with the most outstanding flavor.

Xiaoshan Species. This tea tree is bred from the native species, origins in the Xiaoshan Island, and a relatively new type. It sprouts early, typically can be harvested in the middle of March so that the product can be published earlier and get a higher price.

Wuniu Species. It’s a newly introduced tea tree from another place. The feature of it is sprout very early, typically can be harvested in early March. But it tastes weaker and not resistant to brew.

Maybe you will think that the native species will be the most welcome. But the truth is the opposite. Most tea lovers pursue tender bud tea, especially the market’s vigorously promote of Mingqian Cha and Yuqian Cha. That makes the tea can get a higher price if published earlier. Sometimes the price spread even over double.

Tea factories will start purchase source leaves in March, processing them into teas, and make sure they can be published before April. So the Wuniu species which sprouts earliest is more welcomed by the tea farmers; it brings more earning.

The exotic species tea trees have got over 80% occupancy in the Dongting Mountain producing region in recent years, and the native ones left less than 20%. Some tea farmers even cut down the native tea trees in their own plantations to plant more Wuniu species. It leads to the yield of the authentic Biluochun reduction, and tea lovers need to pay more to buy.

Even so, Biluochun is really too famous, and it never satisfied the market requirement, no matter whether it is native or not. Some local tea factories even purchase the leaves from other places for processing, then sold with the Biluochun brand. That is how the various Biluochun with a low price come, and their flavor is far away from the authentic ones.

Biluochun tea has a full fruity flavor

Elaborate Processing

The traditional Biluochun processing is all in manual by tea masters. Tea masters’ extraordinary skills give Biluochun a unique appearance and flavor. As one of the most expensive green tea, every step during Biluochun processing requires the best.

Picking

The picking standard of Biluochun is one bud and the just-bloom first leaf. Harvest typically starts from the end of March, ends before May comes. The leaves picked before Qingmin (5th April) are the most expensive. They are just bloomed, curly like the bird’s tongue. And they are tiny, need dozens of thousands of leaves to produce a kilo Biluochun. Some more rare leaves will be picked before Chunfen(20th March) and only available by pre-order. The leaves picked after Guyu(20th April) are also called “Chao Qing,” typically with a reasonable price.

Screening

Most of the green teas will be fixated after picking immediately to prevent the leaves go on fermenting. But in the Biluochun case, tea masters will screen the leaves first. They remove the leaves that do not match the standard and make the left ones unify at the appearance, size, and quality. This process needs to be very careful, and it cost lots of time, typically more than 6 hours.

During this processing, leaves are a little fermenting inevitably, similar to the withering of White Tea. Some people thought that the fruity flavor of Biluochun is not related to the planting style but this processing.

Leaves should be screening first, and it cost a lot of time

Fixation

Fresh leaves must be fixated on the same day of picking. Tea masters will put the leaves after screening in a pan at 190-200℃, frying them quickly to stop them from fermenting, also keep the green color. This usually costs 3-5 minutes.

Rolling

One characteristic of Biluochun is the leaves are covered with tiny white fuzz like the white tea. These fuzz which is called “Hao,” are proper of the tender bud teas. The tender the leaves, the more fuzz they get. After fixation, tea masters will lower the pan’s temperature, rolling the leaves with their hands gently, making them into a curly spiral shape. Tea masters need to be very careful so that no let the fuzz drop from the leaves.

Drying

As the frying and rolling ending, the leaves’ water content has reduced a lot, and they look dry. But this dryness is still not suitable for storage, and the tea may get damp and bad quickly. So after rolling, tea masters will put the leaves on paper and place them at the edge of the pan. Use the afterheat to keep drying them, let the water content reduce to an ideal degree.

After frying, leaves will be drying on a paper slowly

Biluochun Grades & Flavor

The Chinese authorities set a grading standard for Biluochun tea according to the leaves quality; from the best to the general:

• Special First Grade
• Special Second Grade
• First Grade
• Second Grade
• Third Grade
• Special Grade
• First Grade Chao Qing

The Special First Grade Biluochun must only be made from single buds, which is the most expensive. The First to the Third Grade ones typically with a reasonable price, and they are loved by many senior tea lovers.

The Special and the First Grade Chao Qing Biluochun are made from the leaves that were picked in late April. Its price is low, but the flavor also excellent, suitable for the one who wants to take the first try.

The higher the grade, the infusion of Biluochun shows greener. Vast fuzz will dance in the water, look not muddy, but reflect silver light under the sun. Close to the cup and have a smell, you will get an elegant and fresh floral. Due to the fuzz, Biluochun tastes brisker and with a little astringent. Still, the sweetness aftertaste will come soon, delicate like the pipa. The maturer Biluochun tastes more mellow, a fruity flavor similar to peach, but the astringent and bitter will be more obvious.

Biluochun leaves are curly and full of tiny white fuzz

How To Make Biluochun Tea

Brewing with a Gaiwan

Use a Gaiwan to brew Biluochun tea is great for sharing with friends.

1. Prepare and preheat a 250ml white ceramic Gaiwan;
2. Add 80℃ water in first, then put 3-5g leaves in;
3. Cover and steep for about 25 seconds;
4. Pour the infusion into a fair cup to equal the concentration, don’t left a drop;
5. Share it to each cup, enjoy;
6. Typically, Biluochun tea can make 5 brews;

Brewing with a Glass Cup

When you want to try Biluochun alone, an ordinary glass cup will be nice.

1. Prepare a 300ml glass cup;
2. Add 80℃ water in till the 3/5, then put 5-8g leaves in;
3. Steep for about 15 seconds, then go on adding water after the leaves are extended;
4. Enjoy;
5. Refill when the tea almost finish, and not need to wait it all gone;

Brewing Biluochun with a glass cup and enjoy alone

Store Ways

Even though most Chinese tea lovers pursue the Biluochun tea produced in the early spring, they would not drink it immediately after buying it. Because Traditional Chinese Medicine thought that the tea just finished frying will easily bring “heat” to the human body and leads to inflammation. So they usually store the tea for several weeks, let the “heat” gone, and the flavor become mature, then drinking.

Biluochun tea is rare and expensive, so the products on the market typically with a bit of weight, about 50-200g; you can finish consuming it in a short period. Few people will aging the Biluochun tea because the flavor of the non-fermented green tea will easily change and go bad during long time storage.

To store the Biluochun, you need a non-smell iron or tin container (many products will take them as a packing.) Ensure that the container has good airtightness, and then you can store it in a fridge(0-5℃). 

Suppose there are many other foods in the fridge and smell. In that case, you need to wrap a kraft outside the container extra or consider storing the tea in another place. A dark, cold, drying environment will be awesome.

Related Reading: Choose the best tea storage container for loose leaf tea.