A Long Jing from a very early harvest, picked in late March/early April 2024.
The leaf smells wonderful, the taste is full and nutty and the tea has a lot of sweetness. The aftertaste is also delicious, the tea leaves a pleasant coating after swallowing. Don't brew too cold, Long Jing can take a bit and the recommendation is around 90c.
Long Jing is also known as Dragonwell. The relative high density of water from a lake causes lower-density rainwater to stay on top of it. This rainwater sometimes makes a movement similar to a dragon, therefore "Dragonwell."
Harvest
Long Jing is harvested once a year, in the spring so between March 20 and April 20. The earlier the harvest the better the quality, as it gets warmer the leaves also get bigger. The leaves are finer at the beginning of the harvest period which improves the quality. A bud is harvested and the first one or two leaves. These leaves are no larger than the bud. Very careful picking is done so as not to damage the leaf and bud. A picker picks about 2 kilograms of fresh leaves per day, eventually becoming 500 grams of dried tea. The very best harvest of Long Jing belongs to the leaders of China.
Making
Long Jing is dried after dyeing by roasting it in the wok. This is done by hand so the maker can feel the temperature of the wok. It takes a tea maker about 3 years to master 10 different hand movements for in the wok. A maker can process about a kilo a day of the highest quality Long Jing.
