Tasting Notes
The tea has stunning flavours of fresh grass and asparagus with a smooth, nutty finish of hazelnut. Combined with a soft and round mouthfeel and a long, honeyed sweetness, it truly is a sublime tea.
Quantity
Use 0.1 oz of leaf per 5.5 fl oz of water (2g per 150ml).
Temperature
For the optimum infusion use 158°F (70°C) water.
Time
Infuse for 1 - 2 minutes, tasting regularly.
Infusions
You can infuse this tea at least twice. With each careful infusion, different subtleties of flavour are revealed.
Cost Per Cup
50¢ per cup based on 0.1 oz of leaf per 5.5 fl oz of water and 2 infusions.
GREEN TIPS
The taste of spring
Picked in the early Spring before the first rains, Long Jing is the taste of spring, the first green tips of the year.
Sourced from the banks of the West Lake of Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province. The small farm is owned and run by the Lin family and they can only craft very limited harvests of Longjing. They farm organically without using any pesticides or herbicides, and the land is rich in wild flowers, butterflies and birds.
DRAGON WELL
Myths & Legends
There are many myths about Longjing and why it has its name it translates into English as “Dragon Well”. Our favourite is that there was a deep well on the South shores of the West lake with dense sweet water. When the spring rain fell into the well the lighter, aerated water mixed with the well water and swirled in patterns resembling a dragon.
Imperial Tea
Venerated by an Emperor
In the Qing dynasty Longjing was awarded the title of "Imperial" tea (Gong Cha). There are many stories about how the tea came to be so beloved; the best is about an Emperor hiding the leaves up his sleeves....
He was watching the pickers moving beautifully through the bushes and had been so entranced that he followed their movements and picked his own tea. At this moment a messenger brought him news that his mother was gravely ill and he slipped the fresh leaves up his silken sleeve. On returning to his mother he found the leaves pressed flat like a feather. He infused them for his ailing parent, and of course, she immediately returned to full health so the tea was suitably venerated.
