Product Details
When it comes to Chinese green tea, Longjing tea is famous for its refreshing and a little beanish flavor.
Longjing tea became well-known because its production area was close to major consumption areas. Longjing tea is produced in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province.
Due to the proximity of large consumption areas like Hangzhou city, Shanghai, and historically Nanjing, Longjing tea became so famous that almost no Chinese person is unaware of it.
There are many delicious but lesser-known teas in China, but those far from major cities often do not gain fame.
For these reasons, Longjing tea is considered one of the most famous teas in China, alongside Biluochun from Suzhou.
Its fame has led to the production of Longjing tea outside the original area around Longjing Village (Shifeng) and even outside Hangzhou.
Nowadays, Longjing tea is produced outside of China, including in Taiwan and India.
To differentiate these teas from authentic Longjing, the original is referred to with the production area's name.
Xihu Longjing is named as such because its production area is scattered around the West Lake.
Tea Made from Mixed Cultivars
In Xi Hu area, mixed cultivars from the Qing Dynasty era remain. Mixed cultivars are equivalent to "Zairai-Shu" in Japan, meaning seed grown tea.
These refer to the oldest tea plants planted by ancestors, which have remained in the tea gardens to this day. On the other hand, currently, the most common cultivar for Longjing tea is Longjing #43.
In China, as in Japan, the earlier the tea is harvested, the higher its price tends to be. The advantage of Longjing #43 is that it can be harvested about ten days earlier than traditional mixed cultivars.
For farmers, this is welcome news as they can sell the tea at higher prices. Therefore, Longjing #43 is now widely cultivated, and mixed cultivars remain only in less number of tea gardens.
The fact that Longjing #43 can be harvested early means it grows quickly. Generally, faster-growing plants, including fruits and vegetables, tend to have a lighter flavor and aftertaste.
This is similar to the mild flavor of greenhouse-grown vegetables and fruits.
The same can be said for Japanese tea; the first tea to appear on the market is not always the best. Furthermore, mixed cultivars have extremely long roots, which can absorb more minerals essential for tea quality, resulting in superior raw tea leaves in terms of depth of flavor and aftertaste compared to newer cultivars like Longjing #43.
High-quality Longjing tea contains small white lumps like cotton wool. Some customers mistake this for spider webs, mold, or foreign substances. These white lumps are the "hairs" on young shoots that have become clumped together during processing. They are a sign of quality, so please rest assured.
Here is an introduction to Longjing tea.
Historical and Cultural Background
Longjing tea is historically well-known in China. Production records date back 1500 years. Its name appears in the Tea Classic written by Lu Yu during the Tang Dynasty.
Before it was called Longjing tea, it was commonly named after the mountains it came from, such as Xiang-lin-cha, Bai-yun-cha, and Bao-yun-cha.
During the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, Longjing tea gained great popularity, and it was finally named "Longjing" during the Song Dynasty.
In the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Qianlong visited Shifeng Mountain and was served Longjing tea. He was impressed by its beautiful appearance, elegant aroma, and rich flavor.
When Qianlong visited the tea garden with a monk, there were 18 Longjing tea trees. While enjoying tea plucking, he received news that his mother was ill and was summoned back to the capital.
When Qianlong returned to the palace, he noticed a wonderful fragrance from the tea leaves in his pocket. He brewed the tea and gave it to his mother, which miraculously cured her illness.
Delighted, Qianlong designated the 18 tea trees as royal tea trees. Since then, Longjing has solidified its status as an imperial tribute tea.
Today, the 18 tea trees still remain on Shifeng Mountain. Longjing has dominated the top position among China's top ten teas.
It is also used to welcome important foreign guests, solidifying its status as China's "national tea" and the queen of green tea.
Production Area
The original Longjing tea is produced in Longjing Village by the West Lake. Historically, it was produced in Shifeng Mountain, Meijiawu, Wengjia Mountain, Yunqi, and Hupao.
Today, the production areas are classified as Shifeng, Meijiawu, Xihu, and other regions producing Zhejiang Longjing.
Traditional mixed cultivar tea garden
Cultivar and Plucking
Longjing tea cultivars are categorized into "Longjing #43" and "mixed cultivars," which are the so-called Zairai-Shu in Japan, meaning traditional varieties that have been growing in the fields for a long time.
The budding season for Longjing #43 occurs 7-10 days earlier than other teas. In China, the earlier the tea is shipped, the higher its price, so Longjing #43, which buds earlier, is welcomed by tea farmers.
Embarrassingly, our company also chased after Longjing #43 during its early days.
As we deepened our knowledge of tea, we realized our mistake. Longjing #43 is a newly developed cultivar through recent breeding improvements.
Therefore, the tea trees are young, with short roots. Additionally, because they grow faster than mixed cultivars, the substances contained in the tea leaves are diluted, resulting in less throat feel and aftertaste.
Mixed cultivars often include tea trees planted during the Qing Dynasty, remaining in the tea gardens to this day. These trees have very old ages, with very deep roots, making a significant difference in quality when compared.
Grading and bud length
In spring, the tea leaves are hand-plucked with one bud and one leaf or one bud and two leaves. The best grade is considered to have a bud length of 2.5-3.0cm.
Tea made from buds harvested before Qingming (April 4-5) is called Mingqian tea, considered the highest quality Longjing.
Longjing harvested before Grain Rain is called Yuqian tea, the second-best quality.
Even skilled workers can only harvest 1.0-1.5 kg of buds per day. One kilogram contains 120,000 young buds.
Processing: Hands Swell Red from Work
The production of Shifeng Longjing tea involves the following processing steps.
Withering
After plucking, the tea leaves are moved to a cool room. On sunny spring days, the leaves are spread in a thin layer of 3-5 cm and left untouched for 6-12 hours.
This withering process gradually evaporates the moisture in the leaves, reducing the water content to 70%. The green aroma of the leaves diminishes, reducing bitterness and astringency while increasing the sweetness (amino acids) in relation to the weight.
Pan-Frying (Deactivation of Enzymes and Leaf Shaping)
The primary purpose of pan-frying tea leaves is to deactivate the enzymes with heat and shape the leaves into the distinctive Longjing form. Under high temperatures, the leaves are heated quickly, deactivating the enzymes.
When the pan reaches 80-100℃, 100g of tea leaves are added and stir-fried by hand. Initially, the leaves are grasped and dropped slowly from about 10 cm height.
This process is performed to efficiently remove moisture from the leaves. Stir-frying for 3-4 minutes softens the leaves. Following this, the leaves are pressed against the pan by hand, lifted occasionally to be spread apart, then pressed harder over time.
These operations are crucial for shaping the tea leaves. The leaves are shaped into long, flat forms. Experienced artisans are well aware of the timing and pressure needed for each operation.
Incorrect movements or premature pressure can cause the leaves to turn black. Insufficient or delayed pressure results in leaves drying before achieving the characteristic Longjing shape.
After stir-frying the leaves for 12-15 minutes, the moisture content is reduced to 20-30%, and the leaves are removed from the pan.
Cooling
The pan-fried tea leaves are spread in layers 15-20 cm thick and cooled for 40-60 minutes. During this time, the leaves reabsorb moisture and become soft. This phenomenon is called "rehydration."
After cooling, the softened leaves are sorted to remove broken, irregular, and off-spec leaves.
The sorted leaves are then sieved through a 0.7 cm x 0.7 cm sieve to classify them by size.
Second Frying
The second stir-frying aims to shape and dry the leaves. The leaves selected from the first sorting are collected in portions of 250g (4-5 batches) and added to the pan.
The initial temperature is 60-80℃ until the leaves become covered in visible hairs. Then the temperature is increased to 80-90℃, continuing to stir-fry until the hairs adhere to the leaves, creating smooth, flat shapes. At this point, the temperature is reduced to 50℃.
Similar to the initial pan-frying process, various movements are used to perform stir-frying, with increasing pressure applied. The process takes a total of 25 minutes. Stir-frying is completed once a crisp and pleasant aroma develops.
