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Longjing: China’s king of teas
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BEFORE the morning mist clears, tea pickers in Longjing Village are already deep into the bushes. As Beijing is famous for Peking duck, Hanghzhou is known for Longjing, one of the best green teas in China.
For the premium quality, the best harvest is from days before Qingming Festival, or the tomb-sweeping day, to the beginning of summer.
This year, it started last week.
Longjing is divided into six grades: Superior and then from Level 1 to 5. The first crop of Longjing is considered the most precious after absorbing nourishment during the previous autumn and winter. Its tenderness and fragrance beat tea picked at other times.
Longjing leaves plucked three days before Qingming Festival are called ming qian cha or “tea before Qingming.”
One kilogram of dried leaves is said to contain 36,000 new buds that look like lotus seeds. It is highly treasured by tea connoisseurs and the prices are usually sky high.
From Qingming to Grain Rain (guyu) in late April, little flag-like yu qian cha or “tea before rain” sprouts out, winning its nickname “flag spear.”
Although machines are now widely used in other areas to collect tea leaves, Longjing tea growers in Hangzhou still insist on hand picking. They believe the traditional way guarantees better quality. The preferred way is nipping buds gently with thumb finger and the index finger, one bud with a leaf every time. In this way, both the bud and branch are protected.
After they are plucked, the tea leaves are left to dry in a warm room or in the sun for 6-12 hours. They are then stir-dried for 15 minutes before being cooled to loose between 20 and 40 percent of total moisture volume.
Longjing, or dragon well, wins its name as legend has it that lakes around Hangzhou were homes to a dragon. In the bottom of a well is a secret tunnel connected to coastal waters, through which the dragon comes and goes at his own pleasure.
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