Pi Lo Chun, nicknamed "Green Snail Spring," is not merely one of China's most renowned teas; it is an invitation to wonder, etched for over a millennium in the misty mountains of Dongting. It all begins in this legendary setting, where each spring, the breeze caresses the slopes of Jiangsu bordering Lake Tai, and tea pickers set out in search of miraculous buds. One day, the discovery of a wild tea tree with spiraling leaves inspired an infusion of unparalleled delicacy; a nectar that seemed to capture within it the very essence of the world's first dawns.
The poetic name Pi Lo Chun evokes this botanical magic: the leaves curl like tiny shells, concealing within their spirals the promise of a new season. The harvest, orchestrated at the precise moment when nature awakens, yields only the most tender buds, covered in a fine down, picked in an almost secret ritual.
But it is the botanical symphony that makes this tea a masterpiece: the tea bushes share their terroir with fruit trees, whose blossoms and fruit release sweet aromas that are absorbed by the young leaves. With each cup, one discovers an inimitable floral and fruity harmony, an olfactory and gustatory richness unlike any other. The silky texture on the palate, with its lingering notes, makes tea lovers the lucky recipients of a sensory journey.
Pi Lo Chun is the result of meticulous hand-harvesting and rare virtuosity: each final kilogram of tea requires up to 7 kg of fresh leaves and the painstaking selection of thousands of buds, sorted with the love and patience of true artisans. The art of rolling, repeated at low temperature for long minutes, shapes the famous spiral while preserving the freshness of the aromas, each gesture resonating like a musical note in the master's workshop.
While Lung Ching is roasted over high heat, Pi Lo Chun favors the gentleness of a slow "cooking," followed by gradual drying that preserves its precious floral aromas. This process can be disrupted by the slightest temperature variation, bestowing upon tea masters an almost alchemical responsibility.
Its low yield and the demanding nature of the process elevate Pi Lo Chun to the rank of rarity: only the elite of pickers allow themselves the most prestigious harvest, the “Mingqian”, which lasts only a few days before Qingming (festival of clarity which takes place at the beginning of April) and requires the ancestral patience of the artisans of Dongting.
To taste this tea is to connect with the poetry of spring, to contemplate the nobility of the land, to honor the peasant ingenuity passed down through generations. Each delicate and enveloping cup holds the spirit of the mists of Dongting and the breath of Lake Tai at dawn. To savor Pi Lo Chun is to follow the invisible thread that links tradition, nature, and human virtuosity, accessible to connoisseurs and curious souls alike, ready to celebrate the true grandeur of Chinese tea.
