Pre-Qingming Longjing

Pre-Qingming Longjing Green Tea｜明前龍井

 Tasting notes: Nutty, grassy, mung bean
 Origin: Longjing, Hangzhou, China
 Cultivar: 群體種 Qunti Zhong (Old Tree)
 Elevation: 340m
 Oxidation: ⦿○○○○

Longjing (Dragon well) tea is one of China’s most famous green teas with a history that goes back centuries—a tea that was immortalised in the poetry of Emperor Qianlong in the Qing dynasty. Our Pre-Qingming Longjing this year is made of the tenderest leaves from the first harvest, picked in Spring on March 24, 2022. The plump, vivid yellow-green leaves yield a creamy nuttiness combined with a bright grassy freshness characteristic of Chinese green teas, and leaves a powerfully sweet aftertaste (回甘 huigan) long after you’ve finished drinking it.

Our Longjing tea comes from a tea farm in Meijiawu, one of the five certified core Longjing production areas around the scenic Xihu Lake in Hangzhou, China. You’ll recognise Longjing tea for its distinctively flat jade-green leaves, shaped during the pan-firing stage which halts oxidation after harvesting. Pan-firing also gives this green tea a nutty aroma with notes of chestnut and roasted beans.

This tea is harvested before Qingming Festival, and is made of spring's first bud and two tender leaves, high in nutrients. Pre-Qingming tea is considered the most sweet, delicate and aromatic, while later harvests give a greener, more full-bodied tea. A highly nutritious and refreshing tea that pairs well with seafood.