Dongting Mountain 洞庭山 Biluochun 碧螺春 tea, one of China's top ten famous teas and as renowned as West Lake Longjing, originates from the East Dongting Mountain 东洞庭山 (now Dongshan Town 东山镇, Wuzhong District 吴中区) and West Dongting Mountain 西洞庭山(now Xishan Island 西山岛, Jinting Town 金庭镇, Wuzhong District) in the Taihu Lake 太湖 basin of Suzhou. In this region, tea gardens and orchards are interspersed, with tea trees intercropped with fruit trees such as peach, plum, apricot, prune, and loquat. This creates a typical tea-fruit intercropping model, allowing the tea leaves to absorb the fragrance of the fruit trees, resulting in a natural floral and fruity aroma. Authentic Dongting Mountain Biluochun is made from the tender buds of local tea bush varieties, specifically one bud and one newly unfurled leaf. Producing one Jin (0.5 kg) of finished tea requires picking about 65,000 tender buds, fully reflecting the preciousness of the raw materials.
The production process of Dongting Mountain Biluochun demands extremely high standards and is completed entirely by hand. Its main stages include withering, fixation (killing the green), rolling, shaping (rubbing into spirals), and drying. Each step requires the tea master to flexibly manage the process based on the climate, the condition of the raw materials, and the heat, ensuring the tea leaves are curled into spirals, reveal their white downy hairs, and retain their fragrance. The resulting tea, a masterpiece representing traditional hand-fired green tea craftsmanship, possesses a unique appearance and internal quality.
The finished tea has tightly rolled, slender strips, curled like snails and resembling "bee legs." It is densely covered with white downy hairs, appearing silvery-green and lustrous, clean, and uniform. When brewed, the tea liquor is a bright, tender yellowish-green, and the aroma is fresh, delicate, and lasting, with distinct floral and fruity notes. The taste is fresh, strong, and brisk, with a sweet aftertaste that stimulates saliva production, and the floral and fruity notes are integrated into the tea flavor. The brewed leaves are tender, uniform, vibrant, and a bright, tender yellowish-green. Therefore, Dongting Mountain Biluochun is acclaimed as the "Fairy among Teas" and the "Number One Tea under Heaven," embodying a perfect integration of shape, color, aroma, taste, and charm, making it a treasure among Chinese green teas.
