Longjing tea

The water is popular for brewing teas, such as the local specialty, Longjing tea.

Before infusion, higher quality Longjing teas have a very tight, flat shape and light green color.

High quality Longjing teas produce tender, whole leaves that are uniform in appearance.

As is the case with other green teas (and 'white teas'), Longjing tea leaves are therefore "unfermented."

A large majority of Longjing tea on the market however is actually not from Hangzhou, Zhejiang.

Longjing tea is manufactured in the West Lake district of Hangzhou, China.

(The renowned Longjing tea is a product of Hangzhou.)

Longjing tea came second, Liu An Gua Pian came third.

Emperor Qianlong was so impressed by the Longjing tea produced here that he conferred these 18 tea bushes special imperial status.

Longjing tea and Tianmu tea may match Heaven Pool tea due to the weather in their growing regions.

Stir-fried shrimp with Longjing tea (Longjing xiaren), a Hangzhou classic, is unique and interesting.

Many of these inauthentic longjing teas are produced in provinces such as Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, and Guangdong.

Longjing tea (also called dragon well tea), originating in Hangzhou, is one of the most prestigious, if not the most prestigious Chinese tea.

Further southwest into the lush West Lake hills is the village of Dragon Well, where Hangzhou's celebrated Longjing tea is cultivated.

Tea (Camellia sinensis), Hangzhou is known for its Longjing tea, and the rest of Jiangnan has their own unique tea varieties.

Longjing tea was granted the status of Gong Cha, or Imperial tea, in Qing Dynasty by Chinese emperor Kangxi.

Like most other Chinese green tea, Longjing tea leaves are roasted early in processing (after picking) to stop the natural oxidation process, which is a part of creating black and oolong teas.

A study by Wang and Ruan (2009) found that one aspect of the perceived low quality of Longjing teas was a higher concentration of chlorophyll, producing a darker green color.

He went to the Hu Gong Temple under the Lion Peak Mountain (Shi Feng Shan) and was presented with a cup of Longjing tea.

But that tea, Tao explains, must be made from the most tender green leaves of Longjing tea, picked in spring from the youngest bushes at Dragon Well and brewed with the satiny water of Tiger Spring.

Although it is common practice nowadays to steep Longjing tea in porcelain or glassware, the real taste profile of a finer Longjing is achieved only by using a genuine Yixing clay teapot, which since the beginning, was popular exactly for preparing green tea well.

The premium early season first-picking known as Ming Qian or Pre-Qingming (or Before Ching Ming) Longjing tea requires it to be produced from the first spring shoots prior to the Qingming Festival on the 5th of April each year (approximately).

Some tea makers take fresh tea leaves produced in Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan provinces and process them using Longjing tea techniques; and some merchants mix a small amount of high grade with low grade tea, and sell it as expensive high grade.