Our Premium Hangzhou Longjing (Dragon Well) tea was picked early in the spring before the Qingming Festival, in Hangzhou Zhejiang Province.
This Longjing was picked outside of the official West Lake tea gardens but within Hangzhou. This is premium grade Longjing, but because it is grown outside of the West Lake area that includes the famous tea gardens, it is more affordable, offering great value relative to cost.
The tea has been picked by hand and consists of tender and sweet light green buds that have been pan fried by hand to bring out the tea's characteristic slightly sweet and nutty flavour. Soft, sweet and thirst-quenching, this tea also has a lovely lingering aftertaste.
Brewing Method
The following are guidelines that can be played with depending on personal preference, but they are a good place to start if this is the first time brewing longjing tea.
We recommend adding around 3-4g of tea to 250-300ml of water in a cup or fair cup. The best temperature range for Longjing is around 80-85C. Water over 90C will scald this delicate tea destroying the subtleties of its flavour making it flat. There is no need to rinse this tea before drinking.
We recommend steeping for 2 minutes before taking a sip. You can add more hot water once the tea is down to 1/2 or 1/3 of its original level. The tea can be re-steeped several times before the flavour is lost.