Green Snail Spring
Spring-bright and satin-smooth, Green Snail Spring turns tiny, downy buds into a luminous cup. This is a pure-bud Bi Luo Chun green tea, hand-rolled into tight spirals that unfurl with bright sweetness and a silken feel. Picked at the end of February in Mojiang, Yunnan, it favors clarity over heft. The first sips show steamed greens and light citrus. As the curls relax, sweetness deepens toward sugarcane with a gentle mineral snap. The effect is lift without sharpness, depth without weight. Feature meets advantage meets outcome: pure tips concentrate aroma, precise fixing keeps color and freshness, and the result is a clean, lively finish that lingers. Bi Luo Chun green tea has many regional voices; Mojiang’s version speaks in a fuller, spring-sweet accent that feels poised and modern.
Mountain finesse
Mojiang rises in the Ailao foothills around 1 300 m, where cool nights and misted mornings keep buds tender. That growing environment (soil, altitude, climate) and how it shapes taste matters here. Altitude slows growth and boosts fragrance. The cup carries a greener, mineral edge with gentle sugarcane length across short infusions. Only unopened tips are plucked, no attached leaf. After a brief rest, buds receive a precise kill-green to halt oxidation, are hand-rolled into protective curls, then finished low and slow. The spiral shape meters flavor release, so each infusion shifts from citrus and steamed greens toward young pea shoots and sweet almond. Yunkang #100, a tea plant variety selected from local assamica, gives a buoyant texture rather than heaviness. You taste concentration without bitterness and perfume without fuss. This 2025 first-flush window is narrow, and careful hand work keeps the coils intact. Output is naturally modest, a quiet reason the tea feels focused and composed. Bi Luo Chun (Green Snail Spring) appears once more in the cup’s long, lively aftertaste, reminding you why this classic name endures.
FAQ
What makes this a “pure-bud” tea?
Pickers take only unopened tips. That standard raises natural sweetness, polishes texture, and preserves high fragrance for a cleaner, more precise cup.
How does Mojiang’s style differ from Dongting?
Mojiang tends slightly fuller and greener, with sugarcane sweetness and a mineral line. Dongting is lighter and more overtly floral. Both share the signature spiral buds.
Which variety is used?
Yunkang #100, a tea plant variety from Yunnan’s assamica lineage. It supports thickness in the liquor while staying fresh and bright when processed as green tea.
Is it caffeinated?
Yes. Comparable to other early-spring greens. Expect gentle mental lift, not a heavy jolt, thanks to the pure-bud pick and careful processing.
Why are the spirals so small?
They’re hand-rolled from tiny first-flush tips. The tight curl protects delicate buds, slows extraction, and helps flavors unfold gracefully across short steeps.