Chinese tea may be classified into five categories according to the different methods by which it is processed.
1) Green tea: Dragon well tea is the variety which keeps the original colour of the tea leaves without fermentation during
processing. This category consists mainly of Longjing tea of Zhejiang Province, Maofeng of Huangshan Mountain in Anhui
Province and Biluochun produced in Jiangsu.
2) Black tea: Black tea, known as "red tea" (hong cha) in China, is the category which is fermented before baking; it is a
later variety developed on the basis of the green tea. The best brands of black tea are Qihong of Anhui , Dianhong of
Yunnan, Suhong of Jiangsu, Chuanhong of Sichuan and Huhong of Hunan.
3) Oolong tea: This represents a variety half way between the green and the black teas, being made after partial
fermentation. It is a specialty from the provinces on China's southeast coast: Fujian, Guangdong and Taiwan.
4) Compressed tea: This is the kind of tea which is compressed and hardened into a certain shape. It is good for transport
and storage and is mainly supplied to the ethnic minorities living in the border areas of the country. As compressed tea is
black in color in its commercial form, so it is also known in China as "black tea". Most of the compressed tea is in the
form of bricks; it is, therefore, generally called "brick tea", though it is sometimes also in the form of cakes and bowls.
It is mainly produced in Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces.
5) Scented tea: This kind of tie guan yin tea i s made by mixing fragrant flowers in the tea leaves in the course of processing. The
flowers commonly used for this purpose are jasmine and magnolia among others. Jasmine tea is a well-known favorite with the
northerners of China and with a growing number of foreigners.
Especially in the Qing Dynasty, the fame of Longjing tea became widespread throughout the country. One of the most
remarkable emperors of the Qing Dynasty, Qianlong, paid four visits to the growing area of Longjing tea, not only to enjoy
sipping tea, and to write and sing poems to praise the tea, but also to watch the process of picking and roasting it with
serious intent. He was so interested in Tie Guan Yin tea that he named the eighteen tea trees in front of the Hugong Temple
"royal tea". From that time forward, the tea became increasingly popular for everyone.
By the early 20th century, Longjing tea was witnessing its highest popularity in history. The Chinese government has made a
great effort to promote it and introduce advanced technology in planting, picking and roasting of the tea since the founding
of the People's Republic of China in 1949. Subsequently, a high quality standards system for tea grading was set up. All
these innovations contributed to the standardization of the tea production.
According to local custom, the right time for picking the dragon well tea leaves is very short. The period between Qing Ming and Grain
Rain (from April 5 to 21) each year is generally considered the prime time to get the highest quality Longjing tea. The
brewing method we highly recommended is to put a pinch of dry, roasted tea leaves into a porcelain or transparent glass cup
and pour hot water at about 85C into the cup. Sip and enjoy!
Tie Guan Yin tea contains a variety of B vitamins, people drink tea every day by day to meet the requirement of vitamin B 1 ~
15%, thiamine to maintain nerve, heart and digestive system functioning normally, helps to beriberi , cardiac activity
disorders, prevention and treatment of gastric dysfunction, riboflavin to maintain the normal function of the retina,
prevent keratitis, conjunctivitis, seborrheic dermatitis, angular cheilitis has a significant role; nucleic acid with the
prevention of niacin, niacin control lack of dermatitis, diarrhea and dementia embolism. Pantothenic acid can prevent iron-
deficiency anemia, the treatment of dermatitis of biotin, hair loss and infertility have a role.
Dragon well tea contains a certain amount of vitamin A, with attending night blindness, dry eye disease resistance, anti-
tumor effects, the efficacy of eyesight tea and vitamin A have a great relationship. Longjing tea contains more purine base.
Tea enter the body when the purine base, has excited the role of central nervous system, which can eliminate fatigue,
improve thinking ability, and no wonder that many writers, artists and scientists like to drink Longjing tea. Purine base
with a diuretic, antispasmodic cardiac and other effects, after drinking too much, drink a cup of Longjing tea alcohol
excreted through the urine can be accelerated to achieve the purpose of hangover.
Furthermore, Longjing tea on human health effects as stimulants, antibacterial anti-inflammatory effect, the lifting of
the role of alcohol poisoning, help digestion, reduce blood sugar and blood pressure, and radiation effects and so on.
Therefore, people often drink Longjing tea is not only the material and spiritual enjoyment, but also an effective way to
exercise disease prevention.
To brew the perfect cup of Longjing Tea you will want to use slightly cooler water than you would for your typical tea. The
water used to brew Longjing Tea should be between 140 degrees F and 190 degrees F. The higher the quality of Longjing Tea
is, the cooler water is used, and the shorter the brewing time is needed. Tie Guan Yyin Tea typical use one teaspoon per cup of
water and can also be steeped multiple times. You can typically steep a single serving of Longjing Tea leaves two to three
times before discarding.
High quality Dragon Well Tea will never have these features. The easy way to buy a West Lake variety is to ask for an
authenticity certificate. This won't guarantee its authenticity, as tea gardens often sell fake tea with the certificates
they have been issued. If possible it is always best to purchase tea at an actual tea plantation.
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stories and more interesting scenery description. More Hangzhou tour and Longjing Tea Stories
1: To know when the tea is picked:
The best Dragon Well Tea is gathered several days before Qingming (Pure Brightness, 5th solar term) when new twigs have just
begun to grow and carry "one leaf and a bud." To make one kilogram (2.2lb) of finished tea, 60, 000 tender leaves have to be
plucked. In the old days Dragon Well tea of this grade was meant solely for the imperial household; it was, therefore, known
as "tribute tea". That is one of the many reasons why Dragon Well Tea is so precious. Dragon Well Tea can only be produced
for 6 weeks a year. A good tea picker can harvest only 2 kilograms of fresh leaves in 10 hour a day.
2: To know the way and how much time to roast the tea:
Once the tea shoots are harvested, they must be roasted the same day. After picking the tea is "withered", the tea is spread
thinly to dry for 8 to 10 hours to remove moisture and reduce any grassy or bitter flavor. Once the tea is sufficiently
dried, it is "Roasted". Roaster usually uses bare hands to roast tea to feel his work. It is an extremely hot job and takes
novices many years to harden their hands so that they do not feel the heat. Watching an experienced roaster dry the tea is
like watching a martial art master. It takes a novice over 5 years to master 10 hand required movements to dry the tea. A
master roaster can only fry 1 kilogram of high grade Longjing Tea each day. After roasting, the freshly processed Dragon
Well tea is ready to drink.
3: Aroma also is one of the most important factors in judging the quality of a kind of tea.
By putting 3 grams worth of leaves into 100 milliliters of boiled water, people can judge the quality of the tea by the
smell.Tie Guan Yin Tea is pan fried, so it has a delicious chestnut aroma which should be high, and lasting. The brewed tea
is floral with an exceptionally long sweet aftertaste. Lesser teas often taste weak, grassy, or bitter.