Selecting Biluochun in Dongshan — first picks, two expressions
I arrived in Dongshan (Jinting County) on March 21st 2026, just as the first Biluochun picking had started.
This early window is short. The leaves are still small, the picking is slow, and there simply isn’t much material yet. You notice it immediately — in the pace of the gardens, in how carefully people move.
The garden I spent most time in sits around 200 meters altitude and has been cultivated since at least the 1990s. It’s not a monoculture tea field. It’s closer to an orchard. Tea plants grow among fruit trees and other vegetation, all mixed together.
Because of that balance, no pesticides are needed. Everything grows in relation to everything else.
It’s often said that Dongshan Biluochun gets its floral and fruity character from this environment. Being there, that explanation starts to feel less like a story and more like something observable.
Picking: scarcity in practice
The picking starts early in the morning.
From around 6:30 until midday, the aunties move uphill through the gardens. Each person collects less than a kilo of fresh leaves over those hours — the buds are that small, and the standard is that strict.
After picking, everything is sorted by hand at remarkable speed. Watching this up close gives a different understanding of why early Biluochun is scarce.
A quiet morning in the gardens
Since it was still so early in the season, there weren’t many leaves to pick yet.
Walking through the fields, we kept coming across patches of wild garlic growing between the tea plants and fruit trees. With so little tea ready, we ended up picking garlic leaves instead.
Tasting and selection
Over several days, I tasted through many fresh batches as they were being processed.
At this stage, differences are obvious:
-
some too early cultivars lack depth
-
some are uneven in shape (because of scarcity in harvest) but amazing in taste
This year’s selection is based on those outliers — the batches that held both clarity and structure, even at this very early stage.
What stood out:
-
a clean, precise structure
-
pronounced freshness without harshness
-
a softer, almost creamy finish
Even when pushed with hotter water — around 100°C or slightly below — the best batches remained stable. That durability is unusual for such early green tea.
Hand processing: the 38-minute signature
This farm still preserves a fully handmade approach.
The green Biluochun goes through about 38 minutes of continuous hand processing, moving across four woks. Each stage requires constant control — temperature, pressure, timing — shaping the leaves while gradually drying them.
It’s not automated, and it shows.
The process depends entirely on the person working the wok.
The farm is overseen by Master Sun, who has been involved since its days as a collective during the communist era. Even now, in retirement age, he is still present during the spring harvest, working alongside the team.
Two expressions from the same material
Alongside the green tea, we also selected a high-grade Biluochun red tea, made from the same leaves.
The starting point is identical — same garden, same picking — but the processing diverges completely.
-
The green Biluochun preserves the early spring character: fresh, structured, detailed.
-
The red tea version, fully oxidized, develops a deeper, rounder profile while keeping the same floral and fruit-driven character.
In both, you find:
-
very tender material
-
a distinct fruity floral profile (pipa, peach, apricot)
-
a long, persistent finish across infusions
Brewing
For the green Biluochun:
-
~2g in 150ml
-
glass recommended
-
上投法 (add leaves after water)
-
water at ~100°C or slightly lower
Despite the temperature, the tea remains balanced and does not turn harsh.
A short window
A lot of Biluochun never leaves Dongshan. It’s picked, processed, and consumed locally within a short time.
Being there during these early days shifts your perspective. It’s not just a category of tea — it’s a very narrow window, defined by a few days of picking and a limited amount of material.
We brought back only a few kilos from this selection.
The teas have now arrived in Amsterdam.
