What is Green Snail Spring green tea?
Green Snail Spring green tea is the name given to one of China's rarest and most exquisite teas. It has a peculiar and great smelling aroma that is strongly associated with the tea. Because the tea plants are mixed in with fruit trees like apricots and plums, some of the smell gets absorbed by the leaves prior to harvesting in spring. The aroma from an infusion of these leaves is truly astounding!
Then, during the 17th Century (the Qing Dynasty), a Chinese Emperor visited the famous Lake Tai, nearby the misty Dong Ting mountains where the tea is grown. He – like many other emperors – was deeply impressed with “Astounding Fragrance”, and declared it an Imperial tea. He changed its name, calling the tea "Bi Lou Chun," because “Bi Lou” was the name of a mountain peak within the Dong Ting mountain range, but also because he said that each leaf of the tea looked like a tiny green snail. Today, the name is generally translated as “Pi Lo Chun”.
The resemblence to small snails is due to the careful selection of leaves when the tea is being harvested. Under carefully controlled conditions, pickers select only the most tender buds, each with just one half-opened leaf attached. When the tea is processed, each bud and leaf coupling is painstakingly rolled by hand into a very tight, snail-spiral shape – hence the similarity to a snail in its shell. The tightness of the roll and the unique shape helps to keep the tea fresh.
Because it can only be harvested one time per year, Pi Lo Chun green tea is rare, and highly sought after as a gourmet or speciality tea. The buds must be plucked at exactly the right time, within a narrow, two week window during Spring, but before it gets too rainy. Each bud and leaf set must be picked carefully and accurately. And of course, all the preparation of the tea is done completely by hand. As you might imagine, this limits the amount of Green Snail Spring tea on the market – it's often used as a special gift tea, but be careful if you're searching for some. There are a lot of falsifications, and while more reputable manufacturers will openly state that the tea is not really from Pi Lo Chun, others will attempt to pass off their imitations as the real thing.
Pi Lo Chun tea, as well as having a delicious fruity aroma, also has a prized, complex flavor with floral tinges. It is one of the most cherished teas in China and is to be savored – fans of this tea recommend adding the water to your (glass) cup first, and then gently placing a spoonful of tea on top of the water. That way, you get to watch how the “snails” float for a while before softly drifting down through the water, releasing the powerful fragrance.
Useful Links:
http://www.tentea.com/pilochungree.html
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