Xihu Longjing
西湖龙井 · Dragon Well
Green
In the hills above West Lake, Longjing is still finished by hand.
The tea master presses each batch flat against a wok hot enough to burn skin, guiding the leaves through ten named movements until they take the shape of a bookmark. Nobody has found a machine that does it as well, though many have tried.
When the emperor Qianlong tasted this tea he granted eighteen bushes above the lake imperial status. They are still growing there, beside the old well, and still picked. The pan is what you taste in the end. Warm chestnut and a soft bean sweetness, like spring pressed flat.
- chestnut
- bean
- fresh
- Origin
- West Lake, Hangzhou, Zhejiang
- Water
- 80°C / 176°F
- Ratio
- 3 g / 100 ml
- Caffeine
- Medium
- Rinse
- Not needed
China Famous Teas core; ranked in Ming-era Shiwu Ganzhu (1591)
How much leaf
Gong fu brewing is leaf-heavy and short. Set your gaiwan or pot size and this is what to weigh out.
Vessel volume
100 ml
Recommended dose
Use ~3.0g of tea
The session
5 infusions, about 2m 35s of total contact time.
- Steep 120sChestnut warmth, still deciding its shape.
- Steep 225sThe bean sweetness steps out of the roast.
- Steep 330sPan warmth recedes; green freshness rises.
- Steep 435sA soft grassy coolness settles in.
- Steep 545sSweet water, the last of the spring.
Also sold as
Dragonwell, Long Jing, Lung Ching, Lungching, Lung Chen, Dračí studna, Dračí studna od Západního jezera
Steaper times this session for you
A countdown per infusion, a gong when each one is up, and the whole library in your pocket. Coming to iPhone.
Get notified at launchThese numbers are a median of independent gong fu sources, not a law. Leaf age, vessel and water all move them. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.