When the first wisp of spring breeze gently brushes across the surface of Taihu Lake, Dongting Mountain in Suzhou seems to awaken from its slumber. The mist in the mountains, wisps and strands, softly permeates the tea trees, as if listening to their whispered words. The morning dew, like crystals, condenses on the sparrow-tongue-like buds, refracting the ripples of green that stretch across the mountains and fields, a scene as dreamy as a fantasy. In Biluo Village of East Dongting Mountain, this land soaked in the tea fragrance for thousands of years, a blend of tradition and modernity is quietly unfolding. A group of young people, with a passion for tea culture, are playing a new melody of ancient charm and contemporary style between the iron wok and the charcoal fire.
In this poetic spring day, Tongxin She Teahouse embarked on a journey to explore the authentic Biluochun and paid a visit to Mr. Shi Bingjun from "Shijia Biluo Tea Room" in Dongshan. Shi Bingjun, born in 1989, started learning the art of tea frying from his father after graduating from junior high school and has been silently working in the field of tea frying for 22 years. Time has left marks on his face but has also bestowed upon him exquisite skills and a profound understanding of tea.
Looking at the distant rolling mountains and the leisurely floating white clouds, Mr. Shi Bingjun slowly began to tell his story, which seemed to take us through time. When he first started learning tea frying, the harsh conditions were unimaginable. The stove was even taller than him, and every time he stood in front of it, he had to strain to stand on tiptoe. The fine hairs of the tea leaves stuck to his sweaty neck and got into his nostrils, causing an itchy discomfort. However, because of his deep love for tea frying in his heart, he never once thought of giving up. Instead, he learned to think and explore, constantly groping forward in practice.
In 2014, Shi Bingjun made a bold decision. He paid his own expenses to further his studies at the Department of Tea Science of Zhejiang University. In each of the following years, he embarked on dozens of study trips, traveling to places like Fujian and Zhejiang to deeply explore the craftsmanship of green tea frying. He had only one goal: to make the traditional production techniques radiate new vitality in the new era and attract more young people to engage in this inheritance.
The two characters "Biluochun", just by saying them, seem to conjure up that intoxicating green color. When the Quntizhong (group variety) Biluochun is ready, the Qingming Festival also arrives. This year, the production of the Quntizhong Biluochun at Shijia began, and Tongxin She Teahouse had the honor to go with Mr. Shi Bingjun to the wild Quntizhong tea mountain to search for the tea greens that would soon become the fine tea in the cup.
Biluochun Village, as one of the core origin places of Biluochun, bears the profound history of tea culture. However, now the Quntizhong small-leaf fine-bud tea that truly represents the taste of Biluochun is on the verge of extinction. Along the way, what caught our eyes were mostly early-variety tea plants from other regions. Many of the once Quntizhong old tea trees had also been grafted into varieties that could be marketed early. Those Quntizhong tea trees now could only exist tenaciously in the form of a few scattered trees.
Mr. Shi Bingjun has a precious contiguous tea mountain of Quntizhong on the high mountain. The tea trees here have different leaf shapes and present various shades of green. Surrounded by the early-variety tea plants around, they instead look like "invasive species" from outside. Mr. Shi Bingjun said with a smile that he had carefully counted them one by one, and there were a total of 3,125 Quntizhong tea trees on this tea mountain. These tea trees are the parent stock and gene pool of Biluochun, living fossils of the tea culture that has been passed down for thousands of years.
After handling teas from various traditional tea regions across the country for nearly ten years, Shi Bingjun has become more and more keenly aware of the importance of spreading the "correct understanding". In his view, drinking tea is not just a gustatory pleasure but also a cultural inheritance and the establishment of cognition. Only when one has the opportunity to taste the "right" sample can one truly appreciate the unique charm of Biluochun, establish a correct cognitive system, and thus bring positive circular energy to the development of tea. Only by letting more people taste the beauty of the "Quntizhong" will more people pursue such high quality, the old trees on the tea mountain will not be randomly grafted, and the traditional tea culture can be continued.
Now, Mr. Shi Bingjun has already become a master to several tea-frying apprentices born in the 1990s and 2000s. In his workshop, from tea leaf sorting, tea frying to firewood burning, they are all young people full of vitality. He has unreservedly integrated the techniques he has learned over the years, such as spreading and withering, using an ash pot, and charcoal roasting, into the tea frying process of Biluochun. He teaches his apprentices to use a breathable silk screen tray to make spreading and withering more efficient on rainy days; to use fruit wood for firing to kill the green and stimulate the most pure aroma of the tea leaves; to use the leftover materials of rosewood to control the heat, making the fine hairs of the tea leaves more prominent and the taste more mellow.
This year, Tongxin She Teahouse reserved in advance the Quntizhong Biluochun made by Mr. Shi Bingjun. The moment the bag is opened, a sweet fragrance rushes out, which is the breath of spring, a perfect integration of nature and craftsmanship. The firing temperature is mild. In the tea soup, the fine hairs dance but do not look turbid at all. The distinct and rich green fruit aroma unique to the variety is prominent. The tea soup is full and mellow. When it enters the mouth, it is fresh and refreshing. After it goes down the throat, the saliva secretion under the tongue lasts for a long time. An hour later, the aftertaste still lingers in the mouth. If there is anything to be improved, perhaps the green-killing process could be a little more thorough, but this does not affect it from being an unforgettable good tea in the slightest.
Why can the East and West Mountains of Taihu Lake give birth to such a unique Biluochun? Each place has its own tea, and green tea is the best manifestation of the local conditions. Only the small-leaf Quntizhong Biluochun produced in the East and West Mountains of the origin place, scattered and mixed among the fruit trees, can have that refreshing and long-lasting flower and fruit fragrance. The seemingly delicate Biluochun is actually very robust. Its unique green fruit flavor has a very strong aftertaste that stimulates the secretion of saliva in the mouth. And the handicraft technique of quickly frying it into the dark green and silver-white "copper wire strips and bee strips" in one go over the large fire of the firewood stove is now being inherited by these persistent young people, which is truly heartening.
If you also long to taste the authentic Biluochun and experience this spring gift from Dongting Mountain in Suzhou, you are welcome to reserve it on the website of Tongxin She Teahouse. Let's together, in the time of a cup of tea, savor spring, savor tradition, and savor that persistence and dedication.