Exploring the elegance of Longjing Tea: Origins, Varieties, and Brewing Tips

Longjing tea, with its flat and slender appearance, boasts a vibrant green color. It is renowned both domestically and internationally for its four exceptional qualities: "emerald color, fragrant aroma, sweet taste, and beautiful shape." To brew Longjing tea, use a glass cup and pour in water heated to about 80 degrees Celsius. You will see the tea buds gently rise and dance, reminiscent of graceful lotus flowers emerging from the water. The tea infusion appears jade green, with a high, fresh aroma and a sweet, mellow taste, truly a divine brew among teas.

Among the thousands of teas in China, none is as famous as Longjing Tea. To this day, Longjing Tea remains the representatives of Chinese Tea, its prestigious status unshaken. How much do you know about this top-tier green tea?

Origin of the Name

Longjing tea derives its name from a spring near West Lake called Longjing Spring. In ancient times, it was also known as Longhong (泓) and Longqiu (湫). According to legend, this spring never dried up, even during severe droughts. The ancients believed that the spring was directly connected to the sea, where a dragon resided. Occasionally, the dragon would come to the surface, thus the spring was named Longjing, meaning "Dragon Well." The name of the spring was then used to name the tea grown in the surrounding area.

History of Tea

The history of West Lake Longjing tea is rich and ancient, dating back to the Tang Dynasty. The renowned tea sage Lu Yu, in his seminal work "The Classic of Tea," the world's first monograph on tea, documented the tea produced at Tianzhu and Lingyin temples in Hangzhou. The name West Lake Longjing tea originated in the Song Dynasty, became known in the Yuan Dynasty, flourished in the Ming Dynasty, and reached its peak in the Qing Dynasty.

Throughout more than a thousand years of historical evolution, West Lake Longjing tea has transformed from obscurity to fame. It evolved from being a daily beverage for common people to an imperial tribute for emperors and nobles. This esteemed tea, initially cherished by the Han people, has expanded to become a world-renowned product, marking its glorious period of recognition and appreciation.

Characteristics of Longjing Tea Leaves

Spring Longjing Tea:

• Premium West Lake Longjing and Zhejiang Longjing: The tea leaves are flat and smooth with sharp, slender tips. The buds are longer than the leaves, exhibiting a tender green color with no fuzz on the surface. The tea infusion is a bright tender green (or yellow). It has a fresh aroma or a delicate chestnut scent, although some may have a high-fired fragrance. The taste is refreshing or rich and mellow. The leaf base is tender green and relatively intact.
• Lower Grades: As the grade decreases, the appearance and color of the tea leaves change from tender green to dark green, then to blackish green. The size of the tea leaves increases, and the texture of the tea strips becomes coarser. The aroma shifts from fresh to robust, with fourth-grade tea beginning to exhibit a rougher taste. The leaf base transitions from tender buds to larger, more mature leaves, with the color changing from tender yellow to green, and finally to yellow-brown.

Summer and Autumn Longjing Tea:

• Appearance: The leaves are dark green or deep green, larger in size, and have no fuzz on the surface.
• Infusion: The tea infusion is bright yellow. It has a fresh but coarser aroma and a strong, slightly astringent taste. The leaf base is bright yellow.
• Quality: Overall, the quality of summer and autumn Longjing tea is significantly inferior to that of spring tea of the same grade.

Tea Picking

The superior quality of Longjing tea is achieved through meticulous picking and processing techniques. The raw material consists of buds with one leaf and buds with two leaves just beginning to open. The picking of West Lake Longjing tea is particularly elaborate. Every spring, tea farmers harvest the young leaves in four stages according to their grade, with the leaves picked three days before the Qingming Festivall(Around early April.) being called "Mingqian tea."

Originally, it was said that "Mingqian tea" had to be picked by unmarried women using their lips instead of their hands. This was because the pinch marks left by fingers would remain visible on the processed tea leaves. Although hand-picking is now the norm, many rules still apply. For instance, the leaves must be picked carefully and gently, and each leaf should be placed immediately into a tea basket. It is believed that if the leaves remain in hand for even a moment, the warmth of the hands can cause the leaves to turn from green to red.

Tea Frying Process

The frying process of Longjing tea must be done by hand and typically involves ten techniques: "shaking, carrying, pressing, throwing, straightening, spreading, buckling, grasping, pressing, and rubbing." Observing the entire frying process of Longjing tea reveals its craftsmanship and precision.

The entire frying process is divided into three stages:  initial frying(Qing Guo),  moisture returning(Hui Chao), and final frying(Hui Guo).

1. Initial Frying (Qing Guo): In this stage, the tea leaves are initially shaped into a flat form within 15 minutes and fried to about 70-80% dryness.
2. Moisture Returning (Hui Chao): After the initial frying, the tea leaves are spread out on bamboo sieves to regain some moisture, a process that takes about 1 hour.
3. Final Frying  (Hui Guo): The tea leaves are then returned to the pan and fried until fully dry, with the moisture content reduced to less than 5%, and further shaped. This stage takes about 20 minutes.

After the final frying, the tea leaves are removed from the pan and allowed to cool, resulting in the finished product of West Lake Longjing tea.

Varieties of Longjing Tea

West Lake Longjing is regarded as China’s premier tea. Historically, it was categorized into five types based on their production areas: "Shi," "Long," "Yun," "Hu," and "Mei." Today, all these varieties are collectively referred to as West Lake Longjing tea. While there are over 30 brands of West Lake Longjing tea, the main types are classified into five categories:

- Shi (Lion): Produced in Shifeng.

- Long (Dragon): Produced in Longjing.

- Yun (Cloud): Produced in Yunqi.

- Hu (Tiger): Produced in Hupao.

- Mei (Plum): Produced in Meijiawu.

Tea from these five regions is all known as West Lake Longjing. Among them, Shifeng Longjing is considered the finest.

Traditional Brewing Method

1. Water Temperature: Use boiling water at 85 to 95°C (do not use freshly boiled water; let it cool for a moment before brewing). Learn more about tea brewing water temperature
2. Amount of Tea: Use 3 grams of tea per cup (or adjust according to personal taste).
3. Water Quality: Use purified water or spring water for brewing.
4. Brewing Vessels: Ceramic or glass tea ware is suitable.
5. Brewing Steps:

•    Warm the cup with boiling water and then pour out the water.
•    Add the tea leaves to the cup.
•    Pour in a fifth of the boiling water to moisten the leaves and gently shake the cup for about 30 seconds to release the aroma.
•    Use the "high pour" method to fill the cup to seven-tenths full with hot water.
•    Let the tea steep for about 35 seconds before drinking.