How to Choose Longjing Green Tea: A Detailed Guide

Introduction

Dragon Well tea, also known as Longjing tea, is considered the best green tea and one of the most famous Chinese green teas, often regarded as the best green tea to drink.It has a long-standing history, revered for its delicate, sweet flavor, refreshing aroma, and cultural significance. While widely available, choosing the best Longjing Green Tea can be a complex task due to the various factors that influence its quality. The five key elements in determining the quality of Longjing Green Tea are picking grade, picking time, tea tree variety, origin, and whether it’s handmade or machine-made.

In this article, we’ll explore these five factors and explain how they influence the flavor and quality of Longjing Green Tea, helping you make an informed decision when selecting the best tea for your taste and budget.

1. Harvest Grade: Understanding Visual and Taste Characteristics

The harvest grade of Longjing Green Tea is determined by the tenderness, integrity, and condition of the tea leaves at the time of picking, which directly affect the quality and flavor of the tea. Here are the main harvest grades of Longjing Green Tea:

• Full bud Longjing flavor: The full bud represents the most delicate and precious form of Longjing tea. It takes approximately 56,000 buds to produce just one pound (about 500g) of the best Longjing green tea. These buds are handpicked in early spring and are the first to emerge on the tea plant. They offer a subtle, sweet, and buttery flavor, with a hint of chestnut and a rich aroma. The floral notes of orchid are prominent, and the tea has a high natural sweetness without any bitterness or astringency. The tea liquor is light and bright, with a long-lasting finish, making it highly sought after by connoisseurs. It’s truly one of the best green tea and often considered the best green tea to drink among Chinese green teas.
• One Bud with One or Two Initial Leaves Longjing (One Bud, One or Two Leaves): At this grade, the tea features a bud with one or two leaves just beginning to unfold. The flavor is more robust than that of the full bud, with a balance of sweetness and a slight astringency. The aroma is fresh, reminiscent of a spring meadow. The tea liquor is a vibrant green, with a clean and refreshing taste.
• One Bud with Two Leaves Longjing (One Bud, Two Leaves): This grade consists of a bud with two fully unfolded leaves. The flavor profile is more mature, offering a stronger vegetal taste with a slight roasted aroma. The floral aroma is still present but complemented by a more pronounced leaf scent. The tea liquor is a deeper green, with a fuller body and a more complex structure.
• One Bud with Three Leaves (One Bud, Three Leaves): Longjing Green Tea with a bud and three leaves has a more pronounced and rich flavor. The taste is bold, with a more noticeable vegetal flavor and a hint of bitterness. The aroma leans more towards green and leafy notes, and the tea liquor is darker, providing a stronger and fuller experience.
• Mechanically Harvested Longjing Green Tea (Knife-Cut Longjing Green Tea): Mechanically harvested Longjing Green Tea, often referred to as "knife-cut" due to the harvesting method, includes larger leaves and more tea stems. This tea tends to have a more neutral taste with a stronger astringency. The aroma may be more earthy and leafy, and the tea liquor is darker, with a more intense flavor.

When selecting, higher harvest grades (shorter leaves) usually indicate a higher Longjing Green Tea grade, but the price can be steep. If you prefer a sweet, clear, and delicate tea, go for the all bud tip tea. However, if you're looking for a balance of flavor and aroma without the delicate nuances and a more budget-friendly option, consider the one bud with two leaves Longjing Green Tea.

2. Picking Time: The Significance of Early vs. Late Harvest

What It Is

The timing of the tea harvest is one of the most important factors in determining Longjing Green Tea quality. Early spring harvests, especially those before the Qingming Festival (April 5th), are highly prized, while later harvests, especially those after the Grain Rain Festival (April 20th), are considered of lower quality.

How It Affects Flavor

• Pre-Qingming (Mingqian) tea: Tea harvested before Qingming is considered the highest quality due to the ideal growing conditions during this period. The cool spring weather encourages slower growth, allowing the leaves to develop more flavor and complexity. Mingqian Longjing Green Tea has a fresh, delicate flavor with prominent sweet and nutty notes. The aroma is more floral, and the tea liquor is light and bright.
• Before Grain Rain (Yu Qian) tea: Tea harvested between Qingming and Grain Rain still has high quality but is slightly less delicate than Mingqian tea. The flavor profile is more vegetal and grassy, with a slight increase in astringency. While it may not have the same finesse as pre-Qingming tea, Yu Qian tea is often more affordable and still offers excellent quality for daily drinking.
• Post-Grain Rain and Summer Tea: Tea harvested after Grain Rain and in the summer is generally considered lower in quality. The warmer weather causes faster leaf growth, resulting in thicker, more fibrous leaves that produce a stronger, more astringent flavor. Summer-harvested Longjing Green Tea tends to lack the sweet, smooth character of earlier harvests and may have a more pronounced bitterness.

3. Tea Tree Variety: Heirloom vs. Modern Cultivars

What It Is

There are several tea tree varieties used to produce Longjing Green Tea, each offering different flavor profiles and levels of quality. The three main varieties are the Longjing heirloom (also known as the Longjing Qunti variety), Longjing #43, and Wuniuzao.

How It Affects Flavor

• Longjing Qunti (Heirloom variety): This is the original, seed-grown variety used in traditional Longjing Green Tea production. Teas made from this variety are known for their complex, layered flavor, offering a perfect balance of sweetness, nuttiness, and umami. The tea has a thick mouthfeel with a smooth, lingering aftertaste. Tea enthusiasts often seek out Longjing Green Tea made from this variety for its rich, authentic taste.
• Longjing #43: This is a clonal variety developed from the heirloom Longjing Qunti. It was cultivated for its faster growth and higher yield, making it more commercially viable. While still considered a good quality tea, Longjing #43 tends to have a lighter, less complex flavor compared to the heirloom variety. The tea is often slightly more floral but lacks the depth of the traditional seed-grown Longjing Green Tea.
• Wuniuzao: This variety is not traditionally associated with Longjing Green Tea and is generally used for lower-end teas. Wuniuzao matures earlier than other varieties, producing a tea that is often less refined, with a flatter, more one-dimensional taste. The flavor is less sweet and more vegetal, often with a slightly bitter finish.

1. Origin: The Importance of Terroir and Tea-making Craftsmanship Continuity

Xihu Longjing Green Tea, renowned for its "green color, rich aroma, mellow taste, and beautiful shape," is considered the top among China's ten famous teas. The most famous of these is the West Lake Longjing Green Tea. The core production areas for this tea are located in the West Lake District of Hangzhou, including the five major core production areas of Lion, Dragon, Cloud, Tiger, and Plum.

The region where Longjing Green Tea is grown has a significant impact on its flavor, aroma, and overall quality. Although Longjing Green Tea is mainly produced in Zhejiang Province, not all regions are equal in terms of quality.

How It Affects Flavor

The differences in flavor among Longjing Green Teas from various production areas are primarily influenced by geographical environment, climate conditions, soil characteristics, and tea-making craftsmanship.

1. West Lake Production Area Longjing: West Lake Longjing Green Tea is famous for its "green color, rich aroma, mellow taste, and beautiful shape." The tea from the West Lake production area, especially from the five major core production areas of Lion Peak, Dragon Well, Yunqi, Tiger Run, and Meijiawu, has a flat, smooth, and straight, pointed shape, a tender green and lustrous color, a fresh and refreshing aroma, a fresh and sweet taste, a bright soup color, and a tender and blooming leaf base. The aroma of West Lake Longjing Green Tea is described as "bean flower fragrance," a subtle, distant, and rich scent, similar to the floral scent of spring leguminous plants or the fresh fragrance of freshly made soy milk.
2. Qiantang Production Area Longjing: Longjing Green Tea from the Qiantang production area, including the current administrative regions of Xiaoshan, Binjiang, Yuhang, Fuyang, Lin'an, Tonglu, Jiande, and Chun'an in Hangzhou City, has soil conditions that are also suitable for tea plant growth, but slightly different from the West Lake production area, which may lead to slight differences in the shape, color, and aroma of the tea. The quality and flavor of Longjing Green Tea from the Qiantang production area may be slightly inferior to that of the West Lake production area, but it still maintains the basic flavor characteristics of Longjing Green Tea and is usually more affordable.
3. Yuezhou Production Area: Longjing Green Tea from the Yuezhou production area, including the current administrative regions of Shaoxing City, Yuecheng, Xinchang, Shengzhou, Zhuji, and some townships in Shangyu, Pan'an, Dongyang, and Tiantai, has soil rich in minerals and ample water supply. These conditions make the Longjing Green Tea leaves produced in the Yuezhou production area full and thick, with a deeper color. The aroma of Yuezhou Longjing Green Tea may be more intense, with floral or chestnut fragrance, and the taste may be richer.
4. Lishui Production Area Longjing: As one of the main production areas for Longjing Green Tea, Lishui is located in the southwest of Zhejiang Province, with continuous mountains and close to Wuyi Mountain, having a similar climatic environment to Wuyi Mountain. The history of tea planting in the Lishui area can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty. After hundreds of years of precipitation and inheritance, a complete Longjing Green Tea ecosystem and tea-making craftsmanship have been formed. Lishui Longjing Green Tea uses the local characteristic variety "West Lake Xiaodao," with its tender and plump buds and high water content, ensuring the tea's fresh and refreshing taste. The tea-making process follows the traditional method of Longjing Green Tea, including careful picking, killing green, and frying, striving to maintain the tea's natural aroma and color. Lishui Longjing Green Tea has a fresh and lasting floral and fruity fragrance, combined with a light and rich taste, which can be reflected in both brewing and cold brewing. Lishui Longjing Green Tea, with its lower price, long-standing and traditional production experience, and authentic flavor, has become a good choice for high-quality Longjing Green Tea in daily life.
5. Foreign Production Areas: Areas such as Guizhou and Yunnan also produce Longjing Green Tea. The geographical environment has changed greatly, and the history of tea-making craftsmanship is not enough, which makes the flavor of Longjing Green Tea in these areas quite different from that of Zhejiang production area. The aroma and taste of Longjing Green Tea from foreign production areas may be more intense, and sometimes it may have a more obvious bitter taste. However, due to the more affordable price, there is also a large market.

5. Handmade vs. Machine-Made: Craftsmanship in Every Sip

What It Is

The method used to process Longjing Green Tea—whether by hand or machine—can significantly impact the flavor, texture, and aroma of the final product.

How It Affects Flavor

• Handmade Longjing Green Tea: Traditional, handmade Longjing Green Tea is carefully crafted by experienced tea masters who pan-fry the leaves in small batches. This slow, labor-intensive process allows for better control of temperature and timing, ensuring that the leaves develop a rich, nutty flavor with sweet, floral undertones. The tea is smoother, with a more refined texture and a long-lasting aftertaste. The intricate hand-rolling and drying process ensures that each leaf retains its natural shape and color, contributing to a visually appealing tea.
• Machine-Made Longjing Green Tea: While more cost-effective, machine-made Longjing Green Tea lacks the nuance and depth of flavor found in handmade teas. The automated process can result in uneven frying, leading to a tea that is often more astringent or bitter. The texture may be rougher, and the tea liquor is typically darker, with a less refined flavor. However, machine-made tea can still offer a good option for those seeking a more affordable Longjing Green Tea for daily consumption.

Conclusion: How to Choose Longjing Green Tea

Choosing the right Longjing Green Tea ultimately comes down to balancing your preferences for flavor, origin, and craftsmanship with your budget. If you're looking for a tea with sweet, nutty, and floral notes, opt for high-grade, hand-picked tea made from the Longjing Green Tea heirloom variety, grown in the West Lake or Shifeng regions, and harvested before Qingming. If you're more budget-conscious but still want good quality, tea from peripheral regions or picked later in the season can offer excellent value.

For a truly premium experience, seek out hand-crafted Longjing Green Tea, where the tea master's skill brings out the full range of flavors and aromas. Machine-made tea, while less refined, can still be a great option for daily drinkers who appreciate the classic taste of Longjing Green Tea without the higher price tag.

Ultimately, understanding how each of these factors influences the taste, texture, and aroma of Longjing Green Tea will allow you to make a more informed decision and enjoy the best possible tea experience.