This is an original green tea from the Long Jing Village at the Xihu/West Lake (Zhejiang province). Long Jing or “The Dragon Well” is the name of the spring. It is situated near Buddhist Monastery Lao Long Jing, which was founded in 949. This well water is high mineralized. When it is raining some optic effects appear on the surface of the water and it reminds the dragon’s movements. During ancient times, the Dragon Well was considered to be magic and people use to come here to ask Dragon for the rain.
“The Dragon Well of the Xihu Lake” has thousand year history. The tea immortal Lu Yu described the tea, which was produced by monks of neighboring monasteries – Tian Zhu and Ling Yin. Poets, historiographers, and even sovereigns were fascinated by local tea. During the Song dynasty the tea was named “Xi Hu Long Jing” and this name became the standard. The famous Chinese poet Su Dongpo devoted many enthusiastic poems to this tea. Also, he scribed hieroglyphs “The Old Dragon Well” which can be seen now days near the stairs rising to the Lion Peak. The Kangxi Emperor ordered to deliver Long Jing to the Emperor Palace annually. Qian Long Emperor inspected this area and ordered to organize an Emperor Tea Garden here. Mao Zedong visited these gardens, collected tea leaves and drank tea produced from these leaves. The great reformer Deng Xiaoping, General Secretary Jiang Zemin, and other officials came to this place to have tea time and treat their guests – Queen Elisabeth II, American presidents and others with this amazing drink. During the Chinese economic revival Long Jing became brand number one in China. It certainly presented as gifts to the heads of foreign states.
There are everything for the perfect tea growing on the West Lake Hills - fertile land, mild climate, abundant rainfall and warm winds. There are many lush foresters, fresh springs, swirling fogs and bright green bamboo swaying in the wind here. The generosity of nature and centuries of human efforts and skills made the original tea of these beautiful places a legend.
Lu Ci Zhi, the tea master of Song Dynasty wrote: “When you drink this tea you can feel the breath of Great Harmony which fills the space between teeth and cheeks. This taste heals and makes human consciousness wider. It is compared to precious stone which is not available in abundance.” Due to centuries of selection and manufacturing techniques handed down from generation to generation, Long Jing got four perfections: perfect shape of bright turquoise-green leaves, clear golden brew, rich aroma and fresh taste.
500 grams of Long Jing are produced from 26000 tea buds. The tender buds are called Lian Xin, The Lotus Heart 莲心.. One bud and one leaf are called Qi Qiang, The Peak with Banner 旗枪. The bud with two young leaves which embrace the bud are called Que She, Sparrow Tongues 雀舌. The raw material harvested before the Qing Ming Celebration (The Festival of Purity and Clarity) is considered to be the most valuable. This festival is celebrated on 4 April. Early in the morning, tea leaves are picked, after they are delivered to the local factory. Fresh leaves are jerked and roasted here. It is required high professional skill to handle this precious raw material.
Super high quality Long Jing is produced with “10 main hand manipulation”: shaking, dou (抖), throwing, da (搭), tacking, dai, (搭), crushing, ji, (挤), casting, shuai (挤), trapping, zhua (抓), pushing, tui (推), pinching, kou (扣), pressing, ya (压) and polishing, mo (磨). Only a high professional master can get perfect taste, flavor, color and form of Long Jing. At the present times it is produced not only near the Xihu Lake, but also in Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, and other provinces. But if you are a tea enthusiast, it is necessary to taste at least once the original Xi Hu Long Jing for enjoying the genuine tone of this magnificent tea.
The ready-made tea is bright green, glossy, flat. The infusion color is very clear. It has orchid aroma and sweet, pure, fresh taste.
Infuse this tea with chilled boiled water (85-90°С) in a porcelain gaiwan, yixing teapot for green teas or in glass tea ware. Take 3 grams for 100 ml volume vessel. The brewed buds stand straight under the surface of the water and dance, going up and down, that reminds bamboo leaves swinging in the wind. Tea time with this tea is a pure pleasure. Take time to enjoy it, feeling slowly every sip of this divine drink, smelling the play of flavor and oily taste. You would like to come back again and again to the magic space of this tea.
Chinese medicine states that Xi Hu Long Jing is useful for lungs. It contains vitamins and minerals that strengthen the walls of blood vessels, normalizes blood pressure and neutralizes free radicals.
