I have just bought some Bi Luo Chung tea in Paris, in a Chinese shop that specializes in professional cookware. Recently they have started importing Yizhing teapots and various teaware (their teapot collection is now very extensive), but above all some bulk teas from China, which they describe as "excellent quality".
The teas are vacuum-sealed in aluminum packages lined with plastic, and apart from their name, they bear no other information. Since I could not find much info on this Bi Luo Chung tea (also labelled as "Dong Ding Garden"), I would like some advice on how to steep it.
I already tasted their Imperial Pu-Erh, which, for a reasonable price, tastes better than another one I recently bought for a lot more money in a stylish Taiwanese tea shop near my place. This could be a good point for the shop, but first I'd like to know what kind of find I've made with this Bi Luo Chung, for I haven't found the like anywhere else.
For Pi Lo Chun (Bi Luo Chun) if water is too hot to pour into your palm it's too hot to brew it. Water temperature should be 160-175 degree Fahrenheit, brew for about 1.5-2 minutes.
Keep your water temperature really low. Start around 140F and work your way up until you find what you like best. Dong Ting Biluochun is supposed to be good stuff, though without seeing and tasting it myself (or knowing how much you paid) it's hard to say how good a find it is. I'd use a small porcelain gaiwan or a small porcelain pot as a brewing vessel. Steep times will vary and I'd start at around a minute and just work my way up. It's always better to understeep or use cooler water as subsequent steeps will not be ruined.
If you don't have a gaiwan it's probably worth getting one for this tea. Pre-heat the gaiwan with hot water, pour the water off and add the leaf and cover. Let the leaf sit in the hot gaiwan for a short while and uncover to enjoy the fragrance (which should be very rich if it's the good stuff). Then start brewing.
A good Biluochun is a very impressive tea, just a notch or two below a nice pre-Qing Ming Lungjing in my estimation. I hope you enjoy it.
I did that this morning, suspecting that the tea needed low-temperature water. I believe I overheated it a bit though.
This is exactly what bothers me, for this tea was really cheap - about 12 euros for 200 grams. I don't believe such a bargain is possible for really good tea, especially outside of China. However, the teas I have purchased at this place all seem quite good so far, and the choice of Yixing teapots is so nice that I can imagine the importers take equal care of their teas.
Besides, this importer shop also runs a small, pretty tea shop nearby, devoted to choice teas like new Taiwan Dong Ding, Ying Zheng, etc. That's where I found a Golden Pomelo for 50 euros, which seems a fair price, and this tea is a real miracle. So I should think they know about tea.
I've been thinking of getting a couple of gaiwan, so I'll follow your advice. At the tea shop I'm referring to above, they served me some white tea in a gaiwan and I found this a very nice way to enjoy tea.
Thanks for the precious information!
My experience with this tea in a classical teapot was nice but not overwhelming. Also, I think I may have used a bit too much heat. I'll tell you when I use the gaiwan method.
The origin place for Biluochun is in Jiangsu, but not Taiwan. And don't worry about the price, as long as it is safe to drink and you like it, that's fine. Because the living cost in China is relatively lower than western Europe, and the tea from the supplier couldn't be expensive. And normally the price from the offical supplier for Biluochun (early spring harvest) is lower than Longjing, (sth wrong with my internet link to China, so can't check the price) could be around 20-100 US dollar per 500 gram, grade 1 to 7. And if the tea is from Taiwan and packed locally then delivered to Europe, then the cost could be much lower.
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teapots is
When people mention Yixing teapots, that could means either mormal clay product, which should not that expensive, or Yixing Zisha teapots, which made by a kind of very special clay, you can find more information about Zisha teapot on Mike's site.
But the market for Zisha is not that healthy, lots of dealer will price the normal clay pots as the price of Zisha, or charge a normal made at a very higher price. I only know one good Zisha dealer on line which only deal with its own product, that site is in Chinese and both the dealer and the web server is in Yixing city.
About:
IF the water temperature is lower than 70C degree, you could have the taste diffused slower, but cannot let out the aroma enough; it is all up to your taste, just bear those facts in mind to serve your taste.
About:
Again, this is a matter of personal taste, a gaiwan is not necessarily for serving green or white tea. And if you want to enjoy the beauty of the leaves, clear glasses will do it much better, and if you do so you will find the difference. ^_^ People in Fujian province tend to use clay pots and hot water to serve green tea in a gongfucha style, I personaly don't like it for I don't keen on gongfucha style on green tea, but I like it with Tie Guanyin and some MinHong, because Fujian province is a province for Wulong and Red tea but not green tea.
I found gaiwan is more suitable for Wulong and some white tea, and it you want to try those, then it is worth buying, and to those crazy on Wulong (like me) that will be a must. And you can find some information about gaiwan methods in here:
I am sorry for using Fahrenheit measures with a French woman. 140F should be about 60C (I'm Canadian, but the Americans create the standards regardless of what the rest of the world says). The best Chinese green teas will brew at room temperature and lower temperatures are safest. A porcelain gaiwan (which creates sweet tea and strong contrast between colours) is best. Glass is nice, but makes the liquor colour harder to judge.
The gongfu method is rarely effective with green tea. Yixing clays tend hold too much heat for these delicate teas and leaf quantity should be kept lower than oolongs brewed by the gongfu method.
Please judge a tea according to it's taste and aroma rather than it's price. Profit margins may change but flavour is eternal (at least while the tea is fresh). A good price may just be good fortune for you.
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