Imperial Long Jing

Long Jing (Dragon Well), is the name used for a stunning green tea produced in 5 villages, S.W. of Hangzhou and a 11/2 hours journey on the high speed train from Shanghai. One of China's best and well-known teas, Long Jing is grown in the area near West Lake,( Xi Hu), a scenic area just outside of Hangzhou, renowned known for its scenic views and beauty.
Long Jing is made in a very special way. To de-enzyme the leaf ( "kill green" or qing sha), the tea is pressed down onto the side of special heated woks by hand which creates the beautiful flat leaf this tea is so well known for. When brewed the leaves float vertically like little green pillars in the water!

The tea is named after a single well, Dragon Well, and as with many teas there are several stories explaining how the well gained its name.

One story tells of whilst the well was being dug a stone was unearthed which resembled a dragon.

Another story tells of how the water in the well is very dense. When it rains the lighter rain water floats on the surface of the well water and swirls, twist and turns just as a long bodied Chinese dragon would.

However, the most popular, and my favourite too, around 250 AD a dragon was discovered hiding in a well by a Taoist monk. The villagers were unaware of its presence and had been praying for rain for weeks due to a devastating drought. The monk told them of his discovery and the villagers begged the dragon to help them. As soon as they started praying the heavens opened and the rain poured!  In commemoration the tea and the nearby temple were given the name “Dragon’s Well” .

Long Jing is so delicious and reviving it is recorded as having been awarded imperial status over several centuries. During the Song dynasty ( 960-1279), an Emperor visited the area and whilst watching the tea being picked he received word his mother, the Empress Dowger, had been taken ill. He popped some of the picked tea in his pocket and hurried back to see her. On entering the room she enquired what the delicious aroma was and so he brewed some tea for her. She was instantly revived and Long Jing was awarded Imperial status. Some stories even tell the flattened leaf of Long Jing is supposed to resemble how the leaf looked when it arrived at the Royal Court, squashed and flattened in the Emperor's pocket after a frantic journey!

At a later date during the Qing Dynasty ( 1661 -1722), Emperor Kangxi visited the Hu Gong Temple on Shi Feng Shan ( Lion Peak Mountain ), and there was offered a cup of Long Jing green tea. He was so enmoured with the taste he awarded the 18 bushes growing in front of the temple imperial status. The bushes still exist and the tea plucked from them commands incredibily high prices!

There are several Long Jing imitations which are marketed as Zhejiang Long Jing. These are not authentic Long Jing tea and only tea grown and produced in the 5 famous villages are "real" Long Jing.The villages are Shifeng,Long Jing,Yunxi, Hupao and Meijiawu. Our Long Jing comes from Shifeng ( Lion Peak), village which is acknowledged as the original tea garden and some say as the best. Sadly Long Jing is also grown as far afield as Yunnan and Guangdong Provinces now and is passed off as Long Jing.