Imperial Grade Pure Bud Bi Luo Chun Green Tea * Spring 2016

Earthy kind of green, with a little creamy butter grassy kind of flavor. The grassiness isn’t like a bright, spring green, but a darker, shadier green.

It is a little salty, in a way that reminds me of ramen broth. It becomes nutty in the 2nd steep. It’s not bad, but I still prefer Japanese greens.

This was one of the more interesting green teas I’ve tried recently. The leaves are shaped like little snails with streaks of soft, downy white hairs. The first time I steeped it grandpa style with a pinch of buds. The taste was sweet, creamy and minty leaving an unexpected menthol like tingling sensation in the throat. There’s some fruitiness and a hint of astringency towards the end. When gongfu’d, it produces an assertive brew with some pungency, a viscous body and a snap pea vegetal flavor that stays in your mouth.

Well, I’ve never had bi luo chun before. Is it supposed to be salty? Because… it’s…. strangely salty? Not in a super overpowering way, but definitely a little salty. Huh.

The leaf itself is pretty—pale, and a little crunchy and moist, very cute in their little swirls. Smells nutty, like most of my Chinese green order. The broth is a light gold green tea liquor, deliciously sweet and creamy and nutty (quite a lot like cashews tastewise, actually), but with that saltiness to it that kind of reminds me of soy sauce a little bit. It starts off heavy on the nut and smooooth, becoming somewhat floral towards the end with an additional bit of bitter and astringency. It coats the back of your throat after sipping, leaving a strong aftertaste and lingering presence.

I liked this the best out of the three greens I ordered and it was definitely the most unique, I thought, but be sure to wash your teaware carefully after brewing this one as it gave everything else a salty tinge to it too that I poured in the same cups, ^^;

I tried this one both western-ish style and in a gaiwan. I think I preferred the western, although I probably also messed up the steep times on the gaiwan and did roughly gaiwan recommended steeps on the western so… heh.