San Xia Bi Luo Chun, 三峽碧螺春, the "Three Gorges Jade Green Spring Swirl". To make it easier to remember, and because we only have one early green from Taiwan, we called it Taiwan Primeur Green.
Bi Luo Chun is a famous tea produced in the Suzhou area of China. It is famous for its beautifully curled, twisted leaves. This resemblance gives it the name of its Taiwanese cousin. The exciting thing about this tea is that it is made from the Qing Xin / Chin Shin 青 心 (Green Heart) variety, usually used for high mountain oolongs, rather than the usual base green tea varieties. Due to the tender buds and early harvest, the tea is quite soft, fresh and floral, with elegant notes. It comes from an organic plantation at a lower altitude. This tea is best enjoyed in 3-4 infusions.
This tea is as if taking a literal sip of spring, and it's also perfect as a cold brew for the warm days of spring and summer. Pour 10-12 grams of tea into 1 litre of chilled water, leave to steep for another 10-12 hours, filter and enjoy over ice or chilled. Really fresh spring tea is recommended for all ages. We wrote about cold brew in this article.
