Longjing Green Tea

My friend came over today and he just got back from a month and a half long trip to Asia! He went to Korea, China and Japan, I’m jealous haha. He brought over a tin of this type of tea to try today, he got it right at the tea farm near West Lake. I’m very pleased that he brought some over for me to try!

I had to look up Longjing tea, and once I found out it was Dragon Well, I was like oh I can figure out how to brew this. So I went on Verdant’s site and looked up the parameters for Mrs. Li’s Dragonwell. We decided to try it Dragonwell style, where you put about 4-5 g of tea in a glass and add the water and just keep topping it up, as that’s how my friend had it in China. First of all, WOW, they know how to pack a tea tin there!! The thing was just bursting with tea, and none of it was broken up, it was all in perfect large flat leaves! The color was a rich, vibrant green, they looked very nice. It definitely smelled like a Dragon well, that nutty green tea scent.

So we made this in the glasses with 175 degree water. The first cup was very nice, but difficult to drink due to the leaves all being at the top of the glass. The next couple of top ups were easier to drink though. Man, the flavor was delicious! Very reminiscent of Mrs. Li’s fall version, the nutty sweetness and a definite sparkling quality. I was super impressed that the leaves never got bitter, even when there wasn’t much water in the cup. I think my favorite steep, in fact, was the last time I topped up the glass. Maybe because I could actually sip without eating the leaves, but it was soo delicious!

I’m not sure what exact farm this tea was from, as I can’t read the Chinese characters, but it was really good. I can’t wait to have it again, he is going to bring it over again to have when my boyfriend is back from working. Yay for tea!