Tea of the Month for June-Dragon Well Green Tea

A few weeks back I mentioned that I went to Hangzhou with some friends and that the area is famous for two things: tea and silk. While I did not see any of the famous silk (or search for it for that matter), I did get close enough to the most famous green tea of the area to taste some, buy some and decide to make it the tea of the month.

Longjing tea, or Dragon Well green tea, is arguably one of the most famous teas of China. Longjing tea was granted the status of Gong Cha, or imperial tea, in Qing Dynasty by Chinese emperor Kangxi due to a superior cup of tea that was presented to him. It also achieve some more contemporary fame when it was served to Richard Nixon during his visit with Mao Tse-tung.

It is praised for its "four uniques": jade color, vegetative aroma, mellow chestnut flavor and distinctive flat and broad shape. The Dragon Well name derives from a local spring which is the legendary lair of a dragon. Since it is a green tea, it is not fermented. Longjing tea leaves are pan fried to stop the fermentation process. Oxidation of the leaves is stopped by frying or steaming the leaves before they completely dry out. I include here a photo for you.


When steeped, the tea produces a yellow-green color, a gentle, pure aroma, and a rich flavor. The tea contains Vitamin C, amino acids, and the highest concentration of catechins among teas. The 212F boiled water is not the preferred approach with this tea; the high temperature will break the nutrition and taste of the tea. Instead, boiled water at around 185F is used and poured into glasses so as to enjoy the beauty of the tea leaves rising and falling in the water.

Dragon Well Tea leaves are picked during different periods of time. Generally speaking, the best tea is picked before Qingming Festival, which is called Mingqian Tea ( the esact date shifts every year, but it sometime in) . The tea leaves picked before Grain Rain are fairly good and are called Yuqian Tea. The selection process of tea leaves is very strict. Only the delicate and complete tea leaves are to be picked.
then graded, and then processed according to their grade (water content is a factor). Traditional methods of making Dragon Well Tea include: grasping, tossing, shaking, piling, throwing, buckling, pressing, and grinding. Experienced tea masters know well how and when to use the certain movements according to the temperature, color and moisture content of tea leaves. I guess that my novice assistance would not be welcomed. Who would have thought that it would be so complicated?


Nearing the end of our alloted time with our guide, he took us to Longjing village (dragon well village) so that we could see how it was produced. I'm not naive enough to think that he was doing this out of the kindness of his heart; I'm sure that he gained something from bringing us there. However, this is part of touring around China. This offered us the opportunity to get close to tea bushes as well as the finished tea product, and so I was very willing. Once there, an employee of the company guided us to a tasting room and we sat down with three grades of this year's green tea.

She first made a batch of the second pick, and then the first pick as a comparison. While the first pick is supposed to be the superior one, I found the second pick to be reminiscent of the Japanese green tea, and therefore to my liking. After some negotiating, I walked away with some of the tea for my home consumption. During our tasting time, all of us tried with our limited skills in either language to communicate important things about this green tea. I list these here for you:
1. Hot tea is best
2.Green tea gets rid of fat (the Japanese say this too)
3.Eating the leaves is good for your heart and eyes
4. You can soak a cloth with steeped and cooled green tea and place it under your eyes for healthier looking under eye skin
5.You can wash you skin with green tea
6. You can apply green tea leaves to help reduce itching, swelling from mosquito bites
7. and that women should drink two cups of green tea a day (not sure why, but must be biological reasons)

To finish off the day, we sat in a lovely tea house near West Lake, drank more tea (this time Iron Goddess of Mercy for me and Jasmine for JD, and RD) and ate loads of finger foods that such dried fruits, nuts, sesame cakes, and dumplings.