Bi Tan Piao Xue or "Snow Drop in Emerald Pond" tea gets its names from its enchanting dance when brewed. When viewed through glass teaware, the tea leaves settle to the bottom while the white flowers float on the surface, resembling snow sitting on a frozen lake. When creating Bi Tan Piao Xue the jasmine flowers that are intentionally left in are buds that were not used in the infusion process, but rather fresh flowers included for their appearance.
This tea contains a moderate level of caffeine | Steep at 170° for 2-3 minutes.
The production of jasmine tea is rather labor intensive and the majority of its production takes place in China alone. Jasmine tea is a scented tea which typically uses green tea leaves as its base. It can be found as white and black teas as well, though much less common.
There is an important distinction between traditional jasmine tea and those using a modern timesaving method. The tradition method requires the layering of freshly picked jasmine flowers over a bed of tea leaves and left to infuse the scent. The flowers are then removed and the processed repeated up to five times. The entire procedure can take weeks, which led to the creation of the shortcut approach.