Longjing (Dragon Well) Tea: Taste, Grades and How to Brew It

Longjing (龙井, "Dragon Well") is China's best-known green tea, made around Hangzhou in Zhejiang province. Its leaves are pan-fired and pressed flat in a hot wok, which gives them their smooth, sword-like shape and a flavour of toasted beans, roasted chestnut and fresh greens. The most prized Longjing is picked in early spring, before the Qingming festival (around 4–5 April). Brew it with cooler water, around 75–85 °C, and short steeps; boiling water and long steeps make it bitter.

Green tea isn't my main tea. My shelf is mostly sheng pu-erh and Wuyi oolongs, and most of the year I'm drinking darker, warmer teas. But every spring there's a week when the first Longjing of the year arrives, and for that week everything else waits. I brew it in a tall glass by the window, watch the leaves stand up and sink, and drink it while the leaves are still green on the trees outside.

It's also the tea I made the most mistakes with. For years I brewed green tea like everything else, with water that was far too hot, and wondered why it tasted like boiled spinach. Longjing, more than any other tea, taught me that temperature matters.

What Longjing is#

Longjing takes its name from a village and a well in the hills west of Hangzhou's West Lake. It's a green tea, which means the leaf is heated shortly after picking to stop oxidation. That step is called kill-green (sha qing). In China, green tea is mostly fixed with dry heat in a wok or drum; steaming is typical of Japanese green tea. Longjing is the classic example of the Chinese approach: the leaves are fired and shaped in the wok at the same time.

Traditional Longjing is shaped by hand using a set of about ten classic hand movements: pressing, pushing, shaking, flattening. The tea maker works the leaves against the hot wok until they become flat, smooth and glossy. Much of today's Longjing is shaped by machine, sometimes finished by hand. Machine-made tea can be very good; the best hand-made tea has a particular smoothness and depth.

Hangzhou takes its tea seriously: China's National Tea Museum is there, surrounded by tea gardens.

How Longjing tastes#

Dry, good Longjing smells of roasted chestnut and warm toasted beans. In the cup it's pale yellow-green and clear. The taste is gentle and sweet: toasted beans and nuts, sunflower seeds, a fresh green note like snap peas or young grass, and a clean, lightly savoury finish. Chinese tea drinkers call its characteristic aroma dou xiang (豆香), "bean fragrance".

A good Longjing isn't bitter or sharp when brewed well. It has a soft, smooth texture and a sweet aftertaste. Early-spring teas are lighter, sweeter and more delicate; later pickings are fuller and more robust, with a bit more astringency.

Grades and harvest times#

The biggest factor in Longjing quality is when it was picked.

Harvest	When	What it's like
Ming Qian (明前, pre-Qingming)	Before Qingming, around 4–5 April	The earliest, most tender buds; the sweetest and most delicate. The most prized
Yu Qian (雨前, pre-Grain Rain)	Between Qingming and Guyu, around 20 April	Still spring tea, a little fuller; many people find it the best balance of flavour and body
Later spring and summer	After Guyu	Bigger leaves, more robust, more astringent; everyday tea

There's an old Chinese saying about early tea: for three days it's a treasure, and after that it's just grass. It's an exaggeration, but it captures how much value the earliest pickings carry.

You'll also see Longjing described by how tender the pluck is: a single bud, a bud and one leaf, or a bud and two leaves. More buds generally means a lighter, sweeter tea; more leaf means more body.

Where Longjing comes from#

Name	What it means
Xi Hu Longjing (West Lake Longjing)	The protected heartland in the hills around West Lake in Hangzhou. Traditional sub-areas include Shi Feng, Long Jing, Yun Qi, Hu Pao and Mei Jia Wu
Qiantang Longjing	Grown in the wider Hangzhou area outside West Lake
Yuezhou Longjing	Grown in other parts of Zhejiang, such as around Shaoxing
"Longjing-style" from other provinces	Flat pan-fired green tea made to look like Longjing; it can be pleasant, but it isn't Longjing

The cultivar matters too. Longjing is made both from the older, mixed local bushes and from selected cultivars such as Longjing No. 43, which buds early and looks very uniform. Many enthusiasts prefer the older bushes for depth of flavour; the modern cultivar is prized for early harvest and a neat appearance.

How to brew Longjing#

In a glass (the classic way)#

This is how Longjing is often drunk in Hangzhou, and it's the most beautiful way to brew it.

1. Use a tall, heat-resistant glass of about 200–250 ml.
2. Add about 3 g of leaf.
3. Pour a little water at around 80 °C, just enough to cover the leaves, and let them wake for 20–30 seconds.
4. Top up with water at 75–85 °C.
5. Drink when the leaves sink and the tea is pale green-gold. When a third of the tea is left, top up again. The leaf gives two or three refills.

This is essentially grandpa style, which I describe in more detail in grandpa style brewing.

Gongfu#

Leaf / 100 ml	Water	Rinse	1st steep	Then	Steeps
4–5 g	75–85 °C	No	15 s	+5 s	5–7

Use a porcelain or glass gaiwan and leave the lid off or tilted between steeps so the leaves don't "cook". Bud-heavy, early teas prefer the cooler end of the range; fuller, later pickings can take the upper end. All teas are in my gongfu brewing chart.

Western#

About 2–3 g per 250 ml, water at 75–85 °C, and a steep of no more than 1.5 minutes. Longer than that and bitterness creeps in.

Common mistakes#

Mistake	What happens	Fix
Boiling water	Bitter, "cooked vegetable" taste	Cool the water to 75–85 °C
Steeping too long	Bitterness and astringency	Short steeps; in a mug, 1.5 minutes at most
Measuring with a spoon	Flat leaves take up space; doses vary a lot	Weigh the leaf
Lid closed between steeps	Leaves stew and turn dull	Leave the lid off or tilted
Very hard water	Flat, dull cup	Filtered or soft water; see water for tea

No temperature-control kettle? Let boiled water stand with the lid open for about 10 minutes to reach 75–80 °C, or pour it into a pitcher first to cool it faster.

How to choose good Longjing#

• Look for a harvest date. Serious sellers state the year and the picking window (Ming Qian, Yu Qian).
• Check the leaves. Good Longjing is flat, smooth, even in size and a fresh jade or yellowish green. Dull, dark olive leaves or lots of broken pieces suggest old or lower-grade tea.
• Smell it. It should smell fresh, toasty and nutty. A stale, hay-like or musty smell means it's old or badly stored.
• Taste it. Well-brewed good Longjing is sweet and smooth, with no harsh bitterness.
• Be wary of "West Lake" on everything. True Xi Hu Longjing comes from a small area and is in high demand. Much of what carries the name is from elsewhere.

How to store Longjing#

Green tea is the most fragile type of tea. Light, heat, moisture and odours all damage it, and in a clear jar on a sunny shelf it can start to taste like hay within weeks. Keep Longjing in an opaque, airtight container, somewhere cool and away from spices and strong smells, and try to drink it within about a year.

If you want to keep it longer, the fridge can help, but only if you're careful. Divide the tea into small portions, seal them airtight, and let each portion come to room temperature before opening it. Otherwise condensation forms on the cold leaves.

Read next: Bi Luo Chun and Lu An Gua Pian.