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The original Dragon Well Tea came from Lion Peak Mountain in West Lake (Xi Hu). Due to its popularity, Dragon Well Tea is

now cultivated throughout China. Today any tea that is produced using the same technique is called Longjing.

Two Points to Teach You the Way to Choose Longjing Tea:

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 tie guan yin 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.