After lots of sampling and tasting, we've selected our 2017 premium longjing that's up for sale as of today!
Update 29th April, 2017: The more affordable longjing (dragon well) has now also arrived.
Green Yellow Dry Leaves
Before even steeping this tea, you can already enjoy the beautiful leaves of this handmade tea. The picture of the dry leaf in this post is a shot of the actual tea. The combination of yellow and green colours makes this tea photogenic and enjoyable to just stare at.
Level of Roast
The farmer has consciously given this longjing a light roast, to make sure the natural full flavours shine through. In fact, the level of roast is often lower for more premium longjing teas. The reason is that the natural flavours are so good, that you don't want to roast it too strongly. It's a pretty similar concept as with what you see with low quality black teas that are often strongly smoked.
Temperature & Amount of Steeps
To appreciate this tea we're steeping it at 80 C (176 F) for the first 2 steeps and increasing it slightly for the 3rd and 4th steep. Based on our experience, steeping a few grams of this tea in a glass lasts up to 4 steeps. It's not a cheap tea, but given the amount of steeps, it's good value.
The first steep of this longjing in a glass releases a slightly nutty and toasty taste. It's really great since it kind of wets the appetite for the second (and best) steep. The toasty taste is gone in the second brew, allowing you to appreciate the real flavour of this tea.
Taste & Aroma: Soy Beans
There are different types of flavours for an authentic Dragon Well tea, but this one definitely should be classified as a 豆香 or 'soybean style'. It's more a sort of Chinese classification. It might not be the best way to describe this tea in the West as not everyone drinks soy milk. Yet, we believe it pretty accurately describes the taste.
What's amazing about this tea is that there's virtually no bitterness present. Even when you steep it at higher than optimal temperatures, you're not gonna easily taste bitterness. The taste of soy is very full and smoothly goes down the throat, leaving a lingering taste of sweetness.
Wet Leaves
The wet leaves reveal that this longjing mainly consists out of one bud and two leaves. Of course, with longjing you can go as far as one bud one leaf. Yet, we think with two leaves, the best flavour balance is achieved.
Are you ready to try real longjing? Then now is the right time to try the freshest harvest available!