Dragon Well (Longjing)

Dragon Well Green Tea is a high quality Chinese tea from Hangzhou (China).

The Chinese name for green tea is Longjing. A Dragon Well is the name given to a well filled with dense water, when it rains the less dense water swirls on the surface and evokes the movements of a dragon.

The most famous Tea from China, once considered to be the tea of rich people.

REGION:
Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province (China).
There are 3 classifications of Longjing Tea according to region:

• Produced specifically in West Lake, Zhejiang Province (extremely rare but still made up of around 30 varieties and grades).
• Produce in the Zhejiang Province, but outside of West Lake.
• Produced outside of Zhejiang Province.

PRESENTATION:
Flat smooth tips of the tea shoots -  a maximum of 2cm in length.
Color should be a jade green color with a luster.
Once steeped the beautifully shaped leaves will maintain their shape and take on a fresh light color.

PRODUCTION:
In most cases this tea is produced by hand adding to its high quality.
Longjing tea leaves are unfermented, the leaves are first dried on bamboo mats and than pan fried and shaped by hand in a wok at high temperature, it is then cooled and re-heated over a low temperature.
The skill involved in hand roasting Longjing tea leaves is thousands of years old and involves 10 unique hand movements which take 3 years to learn: Grasping, Shaking, Padding, Holding, Massaging, Pushing, Buckling, Flinging, Rubbing and Pressing. This tea is the result of what is truly the martial arts of tea making. Approximately 30,000 hand plucked tea shoots go into making just one pound of the highly valued Long Jing tea. Finally each leaf is hand graded according to size.

QUALITY:
The tea consists of only the tiniest and youngest buds, these shoots grow very fast in spring and can only be picked during a very short window (late March/early April), the earliest picked shoots make up the higher grades and the grades drop as the harvest extends to its full 6 week period. The harvesting and processing of this tea involves a small regional industry of highly skilled people and only a small amount of tea is processed each day (for this reason many other growers attempt to cheat the process and create fake to cash in on the fame surrounding the Longjing Tea of the Lion Peak Mountains. The most sought after variety is extremely rare 'Shi Feng Longjing' only grown on the highest altitudes of these mountains.
Longjing Green Tea is divided into seven grades according to size and how early it is picked:

1. Superior Grade
2. Special Grade
3. First Grade
4. Second Grade
5. Third Grade
6. Forth Grade
7. Fifth Grade

INFUSED:
When infused this delightful tea results in a yellow / green color.
These fresh tips return to a fresh light green color when steeped.
To fully enjoy its qualities the tea should be made well. Boiled spring water should be cooled to 80 degrees Celsius before adding it to the pot.

TASTE:
This tea has to be made well and short give off a sweet fragrance.
A pure, rich and natural flavor with gentle chestnut-like flavor.

SPECIAL PROPERTIES:
High in Vitamin C, amino acids and catechins.

HISTORY:
The history of Longjing Tea is filled when many famous stories. It has become known as 'The Queen of Chinese Tea', 'The National Tea', "#1 out of the 10 Famous Teas'. This tea was originally just grown in the Lion Peak Mountain region but its fame has resulted in it being cultivated all over china and now comes in over 100 varieties, the best and most expensive varieties come from specific regions.

VARIETIES:
Produced in West Lake (Xi Hu), Zhejiang Province

• Xi Hu Longjing
  Any Green Tea from the West Lake region is a type of Xi Hu Longjing (West Lake, Dragon Well Green Tea).
  True 'west lake' green tea is extremely rare.
  • Shi Feng Longjing
    This is an extremely rare Xi Hu Green Tea grown in a specific location within the 168 square kilometer area designated as West Lake (Xi Hu). This tea is produced in the high altitude area known as Lion Peak (Shifeng) Mountain, the tea leaves are yellow/green, the taste is wonderfully fresh with a long lasting after taste. The tea has been long revered as the best and original Xi Hu Longjing Green Tea.
    
  • Mei Jia Wu Longjing
    Another sub-region within the West Lake area. An expensive tea with a gorgeous jade green color.

Produce in the Zhejiang Province, but outside of West Lake (Xi Hu)

• Non - Xi Hu Longjing
  
  • Bai Longjing
  • Qian Tang Longjing

Premium Harvest

• Pre-Qingming Longjing

WARNING:
True Xi Hu Longjing Tea is rare and commands a high price, for that reason many manufacturers from outside the 168 sq km area try to palm off there tea as the real thing. Your genuine Xi Hu Longjing should come with a special Anti-Fake Label, scratch off the coating hiding the numerical code. Enter this code at http://www.fwcx.com and translate the results using an online service like http://babelfish.altavista.com