tea · china
Longjing
龍井茶 / 龙井茶
A Hangzhou green tea pan-fired by hand into flat blades — the Chinese answer to sencha, and the cup most famous Western critics taste before any other.
Pan-fired by hand into flat blades — the Chinese answer to sencha.
Origin
Longjing — “Dragon Well” — comes from the West Lake (Xi Hu) area of Hangzhou, in Zhejiang Province. The reference plot is Shi Feng (Lion’s Peak), a single hillside that has produced tea since at least the Tang dynasty. Mei Jia Wu, a few kilometres away, is the second tier; Long Jing Cun itself is the village. Tea from any of these three is the only product entitled to the Xi Hu Longjing protected designation.
Imperial recognition arrived in 1751, when the Qianlong Emperor visited Shi Feng during a southern tour and personally classified eighteen tea trees as imperial. Those eighteen still stand, fenced and signposted; their annual yield (a few hundred grams) sells at auction for prices that rival rare wine.
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Sensory profile
Pan-firing (chao qing) is the technique that defines Chinese green tea. Tea workers heat a wide, shallow wok to about 180°C and press fresh leaves against the metal with bare palms — the leaf bruises just enough to lock down chlorophyll without oxidizing. The result is a flat, smooth blade rather than the rolled needle of Japanese sencha.
The flavour profile is what most Westerners call “green tea”: toasted grain, chestnut, slight nuttiness, with a clean herbaceous back-end. Compared to Japanese sencha, longjing has less L-theanine umami, more roasted chestnut sweetness, and reads more “comforting” than “marine.”
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In the cup
Brew at 75–80°C in a tall glass — yes, a glass, not a teapot. Chinese tea drinking watches the leaves unfurl; the visual is part of the experience. Two grams of leaves, 200 ml of water, three to four infusions. The first cup is for fragrance, the second for flavour, the third for memory.
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How to handle
Buy from a reputable importer; longjing is one of the most counterfeited teas on Earth. Authentic Xi Hu Longjing is bright green, flat-pressed, with even blade size. The dust at the bottom of a cheap tin is a sign of grading shortcuts. Store in a sealed tin away from light and heat; longjing oxidizes within months.
References
- Hohenegger, Beatrice. Liquid Jade (St. Martin’s, 2006) — Chinese tea geography.
- Heiss, Mary Lou and Robert. The Story of Tea (Ten Speed, 2007) — pan-firing technique detail.
- Lu Yu. The Classic of Tea (760 CE) — the foundational Tang text on Chinese tea.