Pi Lo Chun

[TeaStarter]

Hey everybody,
I'm new to teas, so I haven't yet 'been there, done that' as far as teas are concerned..

But one of the teas that I think stands out is 'Pi Lo Chun'.

This particular tea that I'm talking about is ZG92: Pi Lo Chun (Green Snail Spring) from Upton Teas.

It's ones of the samples that I've tried that completely stands out from the rest.. It's exquisitely sweet and smooth. It has a floral, sweet taste that I've never tasted before... Dragonwell comes close and allows for 4-5 steepings, but it's just not the same.

The only problem is that it's quite expensive, and seems to be good for only 1 steeping.

I'm wondering if anybody else has tasted this tea, and more importantly, if they found another source that may taste better and last for more steepings of this wonderful tea.

Thanks,
Brian

[tenuki]

I have a local source that goes for at least 3-4 every time, but they don't sell the good stuff online and it's super expensive, as in probably the most i've paid for a tea per oz. But it is amazing. I accidentally let it sit overnight once and after 8 hours in water it was still decent to drink.


But unless you live in seattle that doesn't do you any good. lol. Anyone in seattle that wants my source PM me.

[Victoria]

Something tells me you will have better luck here:
http://www.teacuppa.com/Premium-Bi-Luo- ... Pi+Lo+Chun

[Wesli]

Check out TeaSpring. They have 3 different kinds.

I'm looking to get more into Chinese greens with the addition of a glass gaiwan to my collection.

Anybody know any American distributors of good green snail spring?

[Salsero]

Several TeaChatters who drink Chinese greens and are picky about them feel that TeaSpring has pretty consistent quality in greens. They currently carry three: http://www.teaspring.com/Dong-Ting-Bi-Luo-Chun.asp. I haven't tried greens at TeaCuppa, though they have a fine reputation for Wuyi oolongs. In addition to TeaSpring, I have had high quality greens from Dragon Tea House, Jing Tea Shop (the one in China, not the one in the UK), and Yunnan Sourcing. A couple years ago I had the Pi Lo Chun (Green Snail Spring) (ZG 92) from Upton that I enjoyed quite a bit then, but haven't ordered from them since. In fact, it was my first Chinese green. It's been a long time and I have learned a lot about tea since then and I could easily be mistaken, but I have the feeling that the other referenced shops are more likely to provide a higher quality and fresher product.

If you are doing a web search, you may have better luck with the Pinyin transliteration: Bi Luo Chun.

There were a couple nice review articles about Chinese greens in Cha Dao about a year ago that you might find helpful:
http://chadao.blogspot.com/search?q=Thi ... +furnished+
and
http://chadao.blogspot.com/search?q=Fil ... %29+Spaces

The first, by Geraldo, is especially nice because it reveiws quite a number of vendors and greens. The second, by Anodyne, covers just Bi Luo Chun.

[towerofdabble]

I think this 2008 Spring Tai-Tung "Hao Xian Bi Lu" Green Tea is basically a version of Pi Lo Chun (Bi Lu ~= Pi Lo). Whether or not I've got that right, this Taiwanese green tea from Hou De is very, very good!

[hop_goblin]

My local tea/pie shop sells a nice pi lo chun. Nice apricot flavor.. I am sure they they have a distributor. I will ask next time and see where they get it. The pie place sells a tin very cheap.

[GeoffK]

I tried the 2008 Spring Tai-Tung "Hao Xian Bi Lu" Green Tea from Hou De, it's quite yummy. Vegital in a sweet way but also very very clean.