| Name | Xīhú lóngjǐng / 西湖龙井 |
| English | West Lake Dragon Well |
| Region | West Lake, Hangzhou, Zhejiang |
| Manufacture | Pan-fired green tea |
| Style | Flat-leaf or bird’s beak budsets |
| Flavor | Soft, rich, toasty |
| Aroma | Nutty, full |
| Liquor | Straw tending toward amber, with a tea-oil sheen |
| Brewing | Brew two or three two-minute infusions at 77-82°C. Drink plain. |
The first stop on the Taobao Tea Trail is the most famous Chinese Tea – Xihu Longjing. Of the top 10 Chinese teas, Xihu Longjing is at the apex of the rankings table. Performing a simple search for “西湖龙井” on Taobao I found a well-ranked vendor and ordered 50g (supposedly each serving is 5g) of new Longjing tea. A few days later it arrived in the package below:
Tea Tip – Water Temperature
Obviously the first step in making tea is to boil water, but one thing I didn’t realize right away was that green tea should be brewed with water around 80oC, as opposed to the 100oC when it starts to violently boil. Traditionally the Chinese used a poetic method of determining water temperature by the behavior of the bubbles (e.g. column of steam steadily rising, fish eyes, string of pearls, turbulent waters), but I just waited 2-3 minutes for the water to cool down a bit. Supposedly, using water that is too hot will result in tea that is too astringent or bitter.
1st Infusion – after 1 min.
after 2 min.
after 3 min.
after 4 min.
after 5 min.
Forcing myself to sit and watch the tea for 5 minutes as I took the photos, I could understand how ancient Chinese writers could lose themselves in the experience of watching the tea leaves drift up and down and eventually settle on the bottom of the glass. After two infusions I removed the tea leaves from the glass. They say one way to judge the quality of the tea is that after infusion the leaves should return to their original shape before they were manufactured.
Longjing tea is the classic that lived up to its reputation. They say drinking new Longjing heralds the start of Spring and the New Year. I am not sure about all that, but it is the first stop on this Taobao Tea Trail.
More from Baidu Baike:
Longjing is probably China’s most famous green tea. Grown in the West Lake area in Hangzhou, it has over 1200 years of history. Brewed Longjing has an emerald color with intense aroma and a smooth and refreshing finish. The tea leaves are shaped like the tongue of a sparrow. The combination of color, aroma, taste and shape help distinguish Longjing as one of China’s foremost green teas. The name Longjing comes from the name of the village which produces the tea. It is located West of the West Lake in a place called Wengjiashan. There are 3 types of Longjing tea, each from a different locality: West Lake Longjing, Qiantang Longjing and Yuezhou Longjing. Only tea produced within 168 kilometers of the West Lake area can be called West Lake Longjing. Those grown in Qiantang and Yuezhou are known as Zhejiang Longjing.
West Lake Longjing is one of the top 10 most prestigious teas in China. It was considered to be a supreme tea during the Ming Dynasty and became the royal court tea enjoyed by emperors during the Qing Dynasty. When Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty visited West Lake, he was so impressed by Longjing tea that he decided to call the 18 tea tress at the foot of the Lion Peak mountain “Royal Tea Trees”. Longjing grown in this small area is still considered to be the very best Longjing today.
Longjing harvested before Qingming (a Chinese concept of solar term which falls around the 5th of April each year) is considered to be of excellent quality. Longjing harvested before Guyu (around the 20th of April) is even more outstanding. When brewed, the tea leaves of the best Longjing should separate and stand up on its own. The color of the tea is clear while the aroma permeates through the air.
Longjing has its own grading system. Based on the time of the harvest, Longjing can be divided into 11 different grades. The best is known as Teji, or supreme grade. Every 500 grams of Teji Longjing contain as many as 36,000 young shoots. The harvesting and frying of such tea require extremely strict and onerous techniques passed down through generations.
Longjing tea has enjoyed enormous prestige throughout Chinese history. Its social importance cannot be overstated. A cup of beautifully brewed Longjing is a sign of hospitality, respect and good will.
Where you can find the Longjiing village:
檢視較大的地圖
More Information (from Baidu Baike):
- Origin
- Types & Grades
- Harvesting
- Features
- Determining Quality
- Cultural History
- Brewing & Drinking
- Health Benefits
Other Sources & Links:
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
This is great. I’d been thinking recently – since reading The True History of Tea by Victor Mair and Erling Hoh – that maybe I should give coffee a rest for a while. A friend from Fujian province recently brought back a bunch of vacuum-sealed miniature servings of 铁观音, which I’m very partial to.
Brendan,
I will have to pick up that book. One of the great things about the pre-packaged oolong tea is that you don’t have to worry about measuring out the tea leaves. I will have to add something on the appropriate tea leaves to water ratio in a future post.
That’d be very helpful, I think — I tend to put in way too many leaves just about every time, so I end up with something between tea and salad. I’ve been getting better recently, but there is still clearly an art here that I have yet to master.
hi
you said ‘after two infusions’, what did you mean exactly by that?
Ash,
Good question. Infusion here just refers to the solution obtained by soaking the tea leaves in hot water. For reference, you can usually ‘re-use’ or get 2-3 infusions from green tea leaves and up to 8 infusions from wulong teas.
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