Dongting Mountain Biluochun tea is one of the top ten famous teas in China, ranking alongside Longjing tea from West Lake. It is produced in Dongting Mountain (now Dongshan Town, Wuzhong District, Suzhou) and Xidongting Mountain (now Jinjing Town, Wuzhong District, on the West Hill Island of Taihu Lake, Suzhou). The tea groves and orchards are integrated, with tea plants interplanted among peach, Plum, apricot, and loquat trees, representing a typical intercropping model of tea and fruit.
The manufacturing process for Dongting Mountain Biluochun requires high standards, with premium-quality tea leaves needing to be handcrafted. The raw materials consist of the tender buds from a single bud and leaf at the initial stage of development from the local tea variety. Producing one pound of Dongting Mountain Biluochun requires 65,000 such buds, which are carefully processed through five steps: spreading, fixation, rolling, shaping, and baking.
The finished Dongting Mountain Biluochun has a slender, tightly rolled shape resembling a snail, with visible bee legs, densely covered in white down, and a silvery-green hue with a hint of emerald. The infusion is bright yellowish-green, with a fresh aroma and prominent fruity fragrance. The taste is fresh and strong, with a noticeable fruity flavor. The infused leaves are fine, uniform, and bright greenish-yellow.
Due to its unique and excellent quality, it is widely loved by consumers and has become a renowned tea both domestically and internationally.
01
Sexual Propagation of Dongting Mountain Biluochun Tea Plants
To propagate the Biluochun tea seedlings, select small-leaved tea trees that are more than five years old. Collect the seeds from these trees for sexual propagation. To ensure the quality of the tea trees, observe the germination characteristics of the parent tree before collecting the seeds, choosing those that sprout relatively early, especially around the Spring Equinox when the buds first emerge and are shorter than the leaves. At this time, there is little to no frost, enabling the production of a limited amount of pre-Spring Equinox and a certain amount of pre-Qingming Biluochun tea.
Seeds should be collected after the Cold Dew solar term when the fruit is full. The following year, the roots and shoots will grow robustly and be more drought-resistant. After collection, the seeds are buried in Soil to keep them moist and maintain the vitality of the embryos. They can be sown the following spring. In reality, the current mainstream variety of Dongting Mountain Biluochun is “early tea,” mostly grafted tea trees. Sexual propagation is mainly used for older tea trees planted many years ago, and now it is rare to use seeds for propagation.
▲ Intercropping model of Dongting Mountain Biluochun tea and fruit
02
The Manufacturing Process of Dongting Mountain Biluochun
A large amount of “early tea” from Dongting Mountain Biluochun is already available in the market around the Awakening of Insects and before the Spring Equinox. The local varieties are harvested in late March and end before Grain Rain, while the tea leaves picked after Grain Rain and processed into dry tea are known as stir-fried green tea. The manufacturing process of Dongting Mountain Biluochun involves spreading, fixation, rolling, shaping, and baking.
1. Picking and Spreading
The tender buds and leaves are gently placed in bamboo baskets by pickers. They are then placed in a cool environment where each leaf is meticulously selected. The selection criteria require a single bud and leaf at the initial stage of development, approximately 1.5 cm in length, with the leaf not exceeding the length of the bud. If the leaf exceeds this length, it is removed. The base of the bud must not have a bud scale, and the root of the tender shoot cannot be too long. Frost-damaged buds, leaves without buds, broken leaves, and impurities must be excluded to ensure the cleanliness and uniformity of the leaves.
The selected leaves are spread out on bamboo trays in a cool and dry environment. The thickness of the spread layer is generally 5-10 cm, and the spreading time is about 4 hours. The layer should not be too thick or the time too long to prevent red stems and leaves from developing, which would affect the quality of the green tea.
2. Fixation
The sorted and spread tea leaves are quantitatively placed in a traditional pot with a maximum diameter of 60 cm and a bottom diameter of about 25 cm. For early-picked leaves, the leaf quantity is approximately 600 grams per pot, increasing gradually to 700-750 grams per pot. The optimal temperature for the pot when adding the leaves is around 350°C, and the fixation time is generally about 5 minutes, depending on the climate and other factors. During fixation, the leaves are repeatedly tossed and lifted to ensure even moisture loss and color change. Care must be taken to avoid sticking or burning the leaves.
3. Rolling
The rolling process is also carried out in the same pot, with the bottom temperature maintained at around 220-250°C. The key actions involve rolling and tossing, repeated cyclically. The rolling pressure should follow the principle of “light first, then heavy, and finally light again.” The leaves should not be crushed too easily. When the leaves begin to feel slightly sticky and produce a rustling sound, the rolling should be lighter to avoid breaking the tea. The rolling time is approximately 15 minutes.
4. Shaping and Revealing Down
The bottom temperature during shaping is between 120-150°C. The shaping process involves dividing the leaves into batches, shaping them in the hands, and then spreading them out in the pot, repeating this cycle. The shaping technique follows the pattern of “light first, then heavy, and finally light again.” Initially, the moisture content is high, and the leaves are soft. Excessive force can cause clumping and make the leaves difficult to curl. The shaping should be increased only when the leaves feel pliable and tight, until the down is revealed evenly. As the down becomes uniformly visible, the shaping should be lighter to maintain the curled shape and prevent breakage.
5. Baking
When the tea leaves have achieved a slender, tightly rolled shape, resembling a snail and covered with silver down, the baking process begins. At this point, the pot surface temperature is around 100°C. During baking, the leaves are gently shaped and spread out in the pot. The leaves should be lifted when they start to feel prickly. The baking time is approximately 5 minutes.
The temperature of the leaves from fixation to rolling should ideally be kept at around 70-80°C, and from shaping to baking, the temperature should be around 60-70°C, never falling below 50°C. The total time for processing one batch of Dongting Mountain Biluochun is optimally 35-45 minutes. An excessively high or low pot surface and leaf temperatures, or a prolonged or shortened processing time, may lead to defects in the final product.
03
Key Control Points in the Manufacturing Process of Dongting Mountain Biluochun
1. Control Points in Fixation
The temperature of the pot during fixation of Dongting Mountain Biluochun should be around 350°C. From a sensory perspective, the circle of brightness on the bottom of the pot should have a diameter of about 25 cm. If the temperature is too low, the aroma and appearance of the finished tea will be affected, leading to a dull color, turbid infusion, and suboptimal taste.
If the required fixation temperature is not reached or if the temperature drops during fixation, the following measures can be taken.