I picked up this tea from TeaSource a few days ago, about $6 for 4 oz I think. I'm trying to get into greens, I drink mostly oolong and pu'erh now; but I'm hopping to learn to appreciate a little simpler brew. I first heard about this variety of tea on DragonTeaHouse.biz, and was intrigued.

The dry leaves of the tea and it's liquour have a fresh, spring aroma, perhaps with slight floral notes. The taste however is less than ideal for me, a harsh and bitter vegetal taste along with a subtle sweetness is clear after the first few sips with a lingering metalic after taste and astringency. The second and third steeping are less bitter and better described as grassy, they are also slightly sweeter, but the aroma fades somewhat. I steep this tea with 3g of leaves in 5 oz of 170ºF water for 2 mins. The normal 175ºF is a little too hot and the astringency becomes somewhat over powering. Despite it's bitterness, the tea is still somewhat enjoyable for me, it's bitterness is somewhat refreshing in moderation and the quick simple brew means I don't have to commit alot of time and effort. Certainly a good deal for the price.

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Alex Zorach wrote: on August 29th, 2013

Welcome to RateTea and thank you for your first review!

That price sounds on the low end for Bi Luo Chun (although I have had one cheaper example) so if it's good then I'd also say it's quite a deal! I haven't tried the stuff from TeaSource, but I've tried several other examples of this type of tea, and I find that, while I like it a lot, it is quite tricky to brew...more sensitive to brewing temperatures than most Chinese teas. And I also find that it is more on the bitter side (which for me is something I like).

My favorite example of this type of tea that I've tried has been from TeaVivre, which ships directly from China, so it's a great deal if you buy a lot but you need to make a big enough purchase to make the shipping worthwhile.

Izzie-Bell-Bell wrote: on August 29th, 2013

I might try it from TeaVivre if I get a chance. The reason I ultimately decided to buy this tea is the appearence of it's dry leaves; which resemble a lovely oolong...yum.

Is there anyway I can provide a photo for this tea, I have a nice picture I took of it for my tea blog.

Alex Zorach wrote: on August 29th, 2013

Sure, if you post it to your blog we can pull the image and I'll upload it. We currently don't have a tool to allow users to upload pics directly but that's something we could add in the future if you'd like that feature!

I think it would be useful for companies like TeaSource that don't have images of their teas on their website.

Izzie-Bell-Bell wrote: on August 29th, 2013

Here is the link to the post: http://hot-cha.tumblr.com/post/59707881399/pi-lo-chun-bi-lou-chun-a-chinese-green-tea-i

Alex Zorach wrote: on August 30th, 2013

Thank you! I've put up a thumbnail image; I really appreciate it!

Izzie-Bell-Bell wrote: on August 30th, 2013

I can provide images for teas here as they come up on my tea blog. I'll publish the URL in the review using the 'full review link' tool. However, the reviews will be posted here before they end up on tumblr. I've already put up another 'full review' on TeaSource Jade oolong. Feel free to use any of my photos for your site.

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