Dragon Well Tea 

Dragon Well Tea is also known as Longjing Tea and grown in Hangzhou, in the Zhejiang Province of China. Dragon Well tea is well known for its high quality. It is mostly produced by hand.

Growing Area

Dragon Well tea production began around 1200 years ago. The earliest Dragon Well tea was produced in the tea producing areas surrounding the ancient "Dragon" well below the Lion Mountain of Zhejiang province. As the areas that produce Dragon Well tea expanded, the Dragon Well tea was generally considered to be teas that were produced in West Lake area. In 1970s, the Dragon Well tea plucking and production methods that rapidly spread in Zhejiang, also spread to other tea producing areas in China. Currently, Dragon Well tea is generally referring to as the flat-shaped stir-fried green tea that is made by similar plucking and production technique as the West Lake Dragon Well tea. Teas from different producing areas are differentiated by preceding Dragon Well by the name of its practical producing area. So, Dragon Well tea from Xinchang is called Xinchang Dragon Well Tea.

Quality

Dragon Well tea is divided in seven grades - the highest is Superior, then Special then grades 1 down to 5. Dragon well tea has flat shaped green leaves that look like a sparrow's tongue. Dragon Well is so revered in China that a proportion of the production is reserved for government leaders. It is also often served to visiting heads of state.

Flavor

Dragon Well tea has enticing sweet-edged aromas combining fresh plucked bud with teasing orchard fruit. Complex and multi-layered with warm, creamy, soft plant notes filled out by understated peach.

Production

Dragon Well tea leaves are pan fired (not fried) to stop the fermentation process. This is similar to other Chinese teas. When freshly picked tea leaves are left to dried they start to oxidize. This oxidation is stopped by frying or steaming leaves. Dragon Well tea leaves are unfermented, as is the cse with other types of green tea. When steeped, Dragon Well tea is a yellow-green color, and has a gentle, pure aroma and a rich flavor. The tea is very high in catechins and also contains Vitamin C and amino acids.

Brewing

Good tea needs to be made with good water, so that its flavor can be totally infused. Dragon Well Tea in West Lake is made using water from Hupao Spring, as the water has less soluble minerals and higher concentration levels of organic nitride. It is therefore suitable for producing the flavor and fragrance of Dragon Well Tea. To brew Dragon Well tea, water needs to be 175°F. This temperature ensures that optimum nutrition and taste is obtained. Tea experts suggest using fine china or glass to brew Dragon Well tea because minerals in porous earthenware may disrupt the taste of the tea.