Tea
Tea in the spotlight: Bi Luo Chun 简单茶介绍: 碧螺春
Aug
Bi Luo Chun, one of the top ten famous teas in China, became famous as early as the Sui and Tang Dynasties, with a history of more than a thousand years. It is produced in Dongting Mountain where the environment is unique and blooms in four seasons, so the tea has a special flower fragrance.
The locals first called it Dongting tea, also called Xiasha Renxiang[Scary Fragrance]. According to legend, a local girl came into the mountain to pick tea. The tea basket was full, and she put the tea under her clothes at the chest area. The tea got her body temperature, and the fragrance suddenly attacked. The tea picker exclaimed, “Scary and fragrant.” hence this tea is called ” Xiasha Renxiang[Scary Fragrance]”. In the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, it was a tribute tea made every year. Emperor Kangxi tasted this tea with green soup and admired its snail-like curls. He admired it but felt that the previous name was inadequate for the tea, so he named it ” Biluochun”, which literally translate to “green snail spring”.
Another folklore of Bi Luo Chun:
In the past, there was a beautiful, kind-hearted girl, Bi Luo, who lived in the
West Mountain of Dongting that loves to sing and her songs touched the hearts
of the villagers of the mountain. While
listening to her beautiful voice, a young fisherman named Ah Xiang who lived on
the edge of East Mountain, got gradually and fell in love with her.
In the midst of peace, an evil dragon appeared in Taihu Lake, blocking mountains, and forcing people to build a temple in its honour. The dragon also demanded that every year, a young girl was to be selected as his [Mrs. Taihu] from the village. Rebelling against the dragon’s wishes, the villagers incurred the wrath of the dragon, and Bi Luo was kidnapped. In order to save Bi Luo, Ah Xiang armed himself with weapons and fought against the dragon for seven days and seven nights. Both sides were seriously injured and fell on the shore of Dongting Lake. The villagers caught wind of the news, rushed over to kill the dragon and rescued Ah Xiang. However, Ah Xiang was seriously injured from the battle and went into a coma. In order to repay Ah Xiang’s life-saving grace, Bi Luo took Ah Xiang home to personally take care of and treat the injuries. Due to the injury’s severity, Bi Luo went around the area to look for various herbs and medicine. While searching for cures, Bi Luo chanced upon a small tea tree that grew out of the spot where Ah Xiang and the evil dragon were fighting. Bi Luo transplanted this small tea tree to Dongting Mountain and cultivated it carefully. Around the time of the Qing Ming Festival in the second year, this tea tree grew tender leaves.
Ah Xiang’s body grew weaker and weaker and nothing seems to be working despite all efforts by Bi Luo. Drowned in her helplessness, Bi Luo suddenly remembered about the tea plant bred with Ah Xiang’s blood from the might battle with the dragon, so Bi Luo ran to Dongting Mountain, picked up the tea buds with his mouth, and soaked it into a green tea soup for Ah Xiang. After Ah Xiang drank it, not only his spirit improved, but his body began to show signs of recovery. When Ah Xiang asked where Bi Luo got the [Xian Yao], Bi Luo told Ah Xiang of her discovery.
With the newfound hope, Bi Luo persisted with the cure. She went up the mountain every morning, took the new tea bud full of crystal dewdrops back in his mouth, rubbed and dried it, brewed it into fragrant tea for Ah Xiang. Although Ah Xiang was recovering slowly, Bi Luo gradually became weaker from all the work and died of exhaustion.
Ah Xiang never expected that he was saved but lost the kind and beautiful Bi Luo. He buried Bi Luo under the tea tree on Dongting Mountain with his neighbours in remembrance of Bi Luo and named this miracle tea tree, “Bi Luo tea tree”.
Every spring, the tea leaves made from the buds and leaves of the Bi Luo tea tree are made by later generations. The strips are delicate and curved like snails, the colour is tender and green, the fragrance is elegant, and the soup is clear and green. Although Dongting Taihu Lake has gone through the vicissitudes of life, Bi Luo Chun tea, which was born with Ah Xiang’s blood and Bi Luo’s affectionate heart. The tea remains unique and fragrant to this day.
Biluochun’s strips are tightly knotted, curled up like snails, with an even layer of fine white fluff on the edges. Soaked in boiling water, the cup is flying like snowflakes, slowly stretching into a bud and a leaf. The tea is green in colour and tastes elegant and lasts for a long time.
Processes:
1. Picking fresh leaves
2. Fixing
3. Shaping
4. Kneading
While frying, use your hands to vigorously knead all the tea leaves into several small balls to reveal the silver tips.
5. Frying
Eager to taste the tea? Feel free to check out the link below!
https://teachapter.com/product/bi-luo-chun/
屬於中國十大名茶的一種的碧螺春早在隋唐时期即负盛名，
有千年以上历史。产于环境独特四季开花的洞庭山，所以茶叶具有特殊的花朵香味。
当地人最早叫洞庭茶，又叫吓煞人香。相传有一当地少女入山采茶叶，茶筐满了，便将茶叶放在胸口的衣襟内，茶得到体温，突发袭人香气，采茶女惊呼“吓煞人香”，由此便将此茶叫“吓煞人香”。在清代康熙年间为年年进贡的贡茶，康熙皇帝视察时品尝了这种汤色碧绿、卷曲如螺的名茶，倍加赞赏，但觉得“吓煞人香”其名不雅，于是题名“碧螺春”。
碧螺春的另一个傳說：过去洞庭西山住着一个漂亮善良又会唱歌的姑娘，乡亲们都喜欢听这位姑娘唱歌，在东山边住着一个青年渔民阿祥，而阿祥渐渐的被这位歌女的优美歌迷惑了而对姑娘生出爱意。
突然有一天太湖里出现了一条恶龙，蟠住湖山，并强制人们在西洞庭山为其庙而且每年还要从年青女子选出一少女做其【太湖夫人】。当时太湖村民不为强暴所压制，并遭遇到恶龙报复，并且劫走了碧螺。为了救碧螺，阿翔手持利器与恶龙大战七天七夜。双方都负了重伤并倒在洞庭湖滨。闻讯而来的村民赶过来杀了恶龙，并救回阿祥，但阿祥身负重伤奄奄一息。被救出来的碧螺为了报答阿祥救命之恩，把重伤未醒还在昏迷中的阿祥带回家中亲自照顾并治伤。因伤不易治， 碧螺到处寻药。偶然发现在阿祥与恶龙交战的流血之处长出了一株小茶树，枝繁叶茂。碧螺便将这株小茶树移植于洞庭山上并精心养殖。第二年清明节前后时间这株茶树长出了鲜嫩的芽叶。
阿祥身体日渐衰弱汤药不进，使得碧螺万般无奈。在无奈之余碧螺突然想起了以阿祥鲜血育成的茶树，于是碧螺跑到洞庭山上，以口衔回茶芽，并泡成翠绿清香的茶汤，让阿祥服用。阿祥饮后，不仅精神好转，身体也开始出现回复的迹象。当阿祥问碧螺从哪里采来的【仙药】时，碧螺以实情相告阿祥。
阿祥和碧螺的心里憧憬着未来美好的生活。于是碧螺每天清晨上山，将那饱含晶莹露珠的新茶芽以口衔回，揉搓焙干，泡成香茶，让阿祥饮用。虽阿祥慢慢复原，可是碧螺却因以至情相报，天天衔茶，渐渐失去原气，最后过劳而死。
阿祥怎么也没想到，自己得救了，却失去了善良美丽的碧螺姑娘，悲痛欲绝，遂与众乡邻一起将碧螺葬于洞庭山上的茶树之下，以慰碧螺芳魂，并就把这株奇异的茶树称之为碧螺茶树。
后人每逢春时采自碧螺茶树上的芽叶而制成的茶叶，其条索纤秀弯曲似螺，色泽嫩绿，清香幽雅，汤色清澈碧绿。洞庭太湖虽历经沧桑，但那是以阿祥的斑斑碧血和碧螺的一片深情丹心孕育而生的碧螺春茶，却仍是独具幽香永惠人间。
碧螺春条索紧结，蜷曲似螺，边沿上一层均匀的细白绒毛。泡在开水中，杯中犹如雪片飞舞，慢慢舒展成一芽一叶。汤色碧绿，味道清雅，经久不散。
加工工艺:
- 采摘
- 杀青
- 揉捻
- 搓团显毫 [边炒边用双手用力地将全部茶叶揉搓成数个小团让茸毫显露的过程]
- 炒青
想试茶吗？请点击以下网址!
https://teachapter.com/product/bi-luo-chun/
