Taiwan Sansia Bi Luo Chun Green Tea

Nice!

This looks a bit different from what I was expecting from a Bi Luo Chun … I think I’m used to smaller leaves? These leaves are a little longer, deep, forest-y, emerald green and wiry. They brew a pretty light yellow-green liquid that smells very vegetal, almost kelp-y. Like a cross between seaweed and steamed vegetables … and just a touch of freshly cut grass. It’s a very green aroma!

The flavor is also quite green, although the vegetative flavor is not as aggressive as the aroma might suggest. It is crisp and very pure tasting, with a flavor that is a little like very lightly buttered veggies. There is also a citrus-y tone that emerges toward the end of the cup … it isn’t really a strong, obvious citrus note, but more like a refreshing, sunny taste that tastes of citrus. It has a warmth to it too, slightly nutty taste. It’s a very invigorating drink!

A really rewarding cuppa … I’m very glad I had this opportunity to try it!

I have been holding this sample until my cold was lots better, and I think I am finally getting there! A Bi Luo Chun requires additional attention from me because I have had only a few, so I wanted to really get to know this tea.

This is a free sample provided for review by Nuvola Tea. The dry leaves are mostly dark green and curled – lovely! I was surprised at how much they swelled during steeping. I didn’t remember this type of tea doing that. It smells wonderful!

I must say I am really pleased that I have this today because it is delicious! This has the wonderful oat taste of Bi Luo Chun, but it also has a great warmth and fullness of texture. I am drinking fast because it feels so good going down – think of the expressn “slaking your thirst” and you will know just where I’m at! I feel like I can see “amber waves of grain” as I drink this. K S once pointed out a Bi Luo Chun tasting like original Cheerios, and that is an apt description!

The first steep was so refreshing, and then I oversteeped the second one because of poor multitasking, but it did not ruin it! It was still quite good.

I am on the third steep and this is still going strong.

Thank you, Nuvola Tea for this delightful sample!

Today was a very exciting and productive day! I’m now only 6 days away from my wedding day!!!! Eeeeeeeeeeeehhhh!!!

I picked up my wedding dress, put together the table numbers, made our initials out of moss to hang on the front doors of the reception venue, made a long list of all the things we need to remember to pack, and picked up Tiffany necklaces (and one bracelet) for my bridesmaids! :D I am SOO excited!!! I’ve been waiting for this day my ENTIRE life, and now it’s finally almost here!

I decided to celebrate my productiveness with a hard earned cup of green tea. My skin is rebelling and a couple large pimples have cropped up over the last couple days. Agh! Here’s to hoping the green tea works some sort of magic and speeds up their healing. If anyone has any other suggestions, I’m all ears!! (I popped them, cleaned them out with hydrogen peroxide, and then put a dab of Neosporin on them).

But I digress. ON TO THE TEA!

The dry leaf aroma is just that. Dry. It smells like a dry generic green tea. The leaves themselves are dark green, almost black, with white tips. The brewed tea aroma is a lot more artichoke-y then I would have expected from the dry leaf aroma.

The taste is very nice! It’s sweet and green, but much less artichoke-y than the aroma. My kitty seemed interested for a couple seconds but didn’t lick it, thank goodness. I don’t need his kitty germs. :P Back to the flavor, it sits slightly heavy on the tongue. It doesn’t have that clean, refreshing quality that I’ve come across in other Chinese and Taiwanese green teas. It also doesn’t seem to have any smokey elements to it, which I’ve definitely tasted before in the Bi Luo Chun variety.

Overall, it’s good. But it’s not my favorite. I’ll still drink another infusion though. ;) Oh, and thanks to Nuvola Tea for the free sample!

Went to Spaworld today for the first time. If you have a Korean spa anywhere near you you should go. I have decided that this is where I live now when the world gets me down. The routine goes something like this; give someone $35 then put your shoes, clothes and cell phone away for the next (up to) 24 hours. Get naked in your gender-specific locker room and go take a shower. Hit the shower/pool/sauna/hot tub/cold tub/infrared rest area of you choice, or all of them. Put on a comfy cotton orange prison jumper and go to the co-ed areas. Get yourself a bubble tea. Scope everything out and relax. Go to the hot rooms made of crystals, salt, ice, charcoal and pine, clay, or the omgomgomg red clay ball pit. Hit all of them. Seriously. Really wish you had thought to bring some iced green tea. Get a massage, salt rub, waxing, spicy tofu soup or dumpling depending on budgetary restrictions. Go lie under two inches of hot red clay balls again until you are putty. Shower again then go lie down someplace comfy for an hour or so. Nap. Repeat until you absolutely positively must be jacked back in to teh worlds again. Best $35 EVER.

In other news, I tried this sample right before I went out today. This is really great and if my third steep had gone with me instead of sitting neglected on the dining room table it would have made everything better. I think ashmanra and scharp covered the description well, and I am a bit too blissed at the moment to try to add to their insights. This makes two of three samples I have tried from Nuvola that I must have more of. Pretty impressive considering I haven’t tried the third yet and already ordered more of the first.

Thank you Nuvola Tea for sending me this free sample, along with two others!

This was a pleasant surprise to find yesterday in the mail.

Leaf Quality:
The leaves of this Bi Luo Chun were dark green, yellow, and white in different parts of the leaves. They smelled richly floral. The brewed leaves smelled vegetal and floral, almost like a Taiping Hou Kui.

Brewed Tea:
I brewed this using the “Top-Putting” method. This was a wonderful brew. The tall glass showed that the tea was almost completely absent of color- it was a very light, clear yellow. The scent of orchids filled the glass. It tasted sweet, very floral, and had a slightly vegetal finish. This was very refreshing.
Second Steeping
This cup was consistent with the first: richly floral, sweet, and a light vetetal finish.
Third Steeping
Consistent again with the first two brews, this tea proved very steady in taste. However, the flavor was noticeably lighter with the third brew.

Overall thoughts: This tea was great. Nice and floral, very smooth. I liked this tea very much.

I haven’t tried a new green tea in a while and I was ready to do so to mix things up a little. Another big thanks to Nuvola Teas for this sample! I’m taking this one for a spin in the morning, although I prefer the heartier black teas at this time of day to pounce on my partially awakened senses.

When I opened the sample packet, the aroma of the long dark green leaves was grassy and slightly earthy. I brewed the leaves at 175 degrees for three minutes.

The brewed liquid was mostly odorless. The color was a light greenish gold.

I found the flavor to be very mild but not unpleasant. There was a sweet undertone to a generally grassy green tea flavor. The taste was light, airy, and quite smooth.

I had no trouble drinking four cups of this offering. My personal preference is for the stronger-flavored black teas but that does not make this selection any less palatable.

If you enjoy smooth, sweet, and mild-flavored green teas, you will certainly like this one. So far, Nuvola seems to have a great handle on both black and green teas!

Now that it is spring, I working my way through all the green and white teas I own. There is about at third of this tea left since my last purchase.

Comparing my initial feelings with today’s just after drinking some. I have to say it met my expectations, and turned out to be a very easy tea to brew. Whether steeped long or short, I didn’t have to adjust my method to produce a tasty cup. I like the soft, mellow vegetal flavour with a bit of floral and sweetness in the background. It was a very relaxing tea to have on a mild spring afternoon like today. :)