Have you ever tasted authentic Biluochun? As early as in the Qing Dynasty document Taihu Kao (Studies of Taihu Lake), it was clearly stated: “Genuine Biluochun is scarce; most in the market are fake.” Even today, while production has grown significantly compared to ancient times, truly supreme-grade Dongting Biluochun remains one in ten thousand — a rarity so precious that 99% of tea lovers may never sip a genuine cup in their lifetime.
Its unique freshness and natural floral-fruit aroma are never found in ordinary commercial tea. They exist only in the core tea mountains of East and West Dongting in Suzhou. Ever since the Kangxi Emperor bestowed the name “Biluochun” and honored it as a royal tribute tea for over a century, an unwritten rule has prevailed: “Among Biluochun from East and West Mountains, those from the Eastern Mountain reign supreme.” Without this land, water and ecology, true Biluochun simply cannot exist.
Nestled in the finest heartland of Dongting East Mountain, the Shi family’s tea garden preserves the ancient, unique local practice: intercropping tea trees with fruit trees. Tea plants grow alongside loquat, waxberry, ginkgo and orange trees, absorbing fragrance from blossoms and fruits year‑round. This creates Biluochun’s irreplicable natural floral-fruit aroma — not artificial flavoring, not blending, but the soul bestowed by heaven, earth and water. No craft can replicate it beyond Dongting Mountains.
Even rarer is the Shi family’s commitment to the local native group‑variety small‑leaf tea plants, now on the brink of extinction.
Most Biluochun on the market uses introduced early‑maturing or grafted varieties for high yield and early picking. They may look snail‑shaped, yet taste thin, plain and one‑dimensional in aroma. In contrast, the old native group‑variety plants are nearly extinct. Their buds are tiny, extremely difficult to pluck, and yield very little, yet they contain the richest essence, with unmatched sweetness, freshness and layered aromas — a standard no ordinary variety can reach. At great cost, the Shi father and son travel far to purchase, transplant and protect centuries‑old trees that would otherwise be cut down. In an age of mass production, they guard the very genetic origin of Biluochun.
The preciousness of supreme Biluochun begins with extreme rigor at the source:
• Only pre‑Qingming tender buds are picked, within a window of less than one month; after mid‑April, no more top‑grade tea can be made.
• Plucked at dawn before 5 AM with dew, only 1.5–1.8 cm standard one‑bud‑one‑leaf is selected.
• One jin (500g) of dry tea requires 60,000 to 80,000 buds; one jin of fresh leaves yields only 3 liang (150g) of dry tea.
• Every single shoot is hand‑sorted; damaged, incomplete or uneven ones are discarded. Thousands of selections, all for one perfect sip.
More scarce than the raw materials is the Shi family’s uncompromising, entirely handcrafted traditional method.
Today, most tea gardens use machines and gas stoves to cut costs and boost output, yet they lose Biluochun’s soul. Shi Bingjun, inheriting more than a decade of family expertise, insists on wood‑fired woks, pure handwork, and single‑hand stir‑frying:
• Fresh leaves are processed the same day, never stored overnight.
• Wood fire heats the wok with precise control over hundreds of degrees Celsius.
• Hand never leaves tea; tea never leaves wok. Palms knead and roll until white down emerges and curls form.
• The entire process is completed in one go within 30 minutes, stir‑fried bare‑handed over high heat. One batch yields only 3 to 4 liang of dry tea.
• Tea powder is strictly limited to under 8 grams; the slightest difference creates a world of flavor.
After seven complete traditional procedures, true supreme Biluochun finally takes shape:
Dry tea leaves are dark green and silvery white, slender, tightly curled, fully covered with fine white down — the classic “copper wire strips, bee legs.”
The contrast is striking:
Ordinary Biluochun has little white down, loose strips, cloudy liquor and no aftertaste.
Shi’s pre‑Qingming group‑variety Biluochun unfolds beautifully in water, one bud with one leaf. The liquor is bright green and clear; the infused leaves are tender and lively.
The first sip: elegant, fresh and mellow.
The second: sweet aftertaste rises, saliva flows.
The third: refined floral-fruit aroma penetrates the heart, with a unique green olive sharpness and the crispness of spring pear blossoms. It has a fine texture, rich body, full “mouthfeel” and excellent endurance. After resting to reduce fire qi, the aroma becomes gentle and restrained — like a youth calming his edge, leaving only sophistication and length.
This is not the common Dongting Biluochun found everywhere.
This is Shi’s Biluochun — one of a kind, irreplicable, rooted in terroir, soulful in craftsmanship, and connected to ancient native varieties, passed down through generations of the Shi family.
It does not cater to the market, nor pursue mass production, nor artificial additives. It simply follows nature’s law, locking the vast spring breeze and fresh fragrance of entire Dongting Mountain into every single leaf.
Due to its extreme rarity, Tongxin She Teahouse has traveled far to bring in a small batch of this nearly lost supreme treasure.
We do not aim for mass circulation; we only wish for true tea connoisseurs to taste textbook‑level Biluochun. We have specially launched a small tasting size, so you may experience the authentic tribute tea flavor of the Kangxi era and the lost supreme group‑variety Biluochun without committing to a large quantity.
One sip, and you will understand:
Much of the Biluochun you have drunk before was only similar in shape.
Only this cup holds the true soul of Biluochun.
Live up to the spring, live up to the craftsmanship, live up to your lifelong love for fine tea.
Brewing Suggestion
We recommend the upper‑pouring method: 3g of tea leaves with a 120ml gaiwan. Do not use too many leaves.
Pour water and let it rest briefly; the aroma will unfold layer by layer, revealing the clearness, freshness, elegance and fragrance of supreme Biluochun.
Product Specifications
• Tasting pack: 6g / box
• Collection pack: 50g / can