Friends traveling to China must visit Hangzhou! Hangzhou's Longjing green tea is incredibly delicious. If you come in April, you can catch the first harvest and even pick the tea leaves yourself, then make your own cup of Longjing tea!
I think in many countries, people tend to choose black tea over green tea because green tea isn't as widely accepted. I'm from Meijiawu. If you like Longjing tea, you should know that Meijiawu is a first-class production area, mainly producing West Lake Longjing, and also a black tea called Jiuqu Hongmei. Right now, I'm feeling quite lost; I don't know how to make my channel more engaging and informative. Can my friends offer some advice?
Hello everyone, I am a Longjing tea enthusiast. Recently, I have been struggling with a "century-old problem": when brewing West Lake Longjing tea, is it better to use a glass cup or a gaiwan?
Let's start with a brief introduction to the characteristics of Longjing tea: Pre-Qingming/Pre-Rain Longjing is a top-grade green tea. The leaves are flat and smooth, with a bright green color, a high and delicate aroma (scent of beans or chestnuts), and a fresh, sweet, and mellow taste. It is most susceptible to damage from high-temperature brewing; the optimal water temperature is 80-85℃. Otherwise, it easily becomes bitter, loses its aroma, and the leaves turn yellow.
Brewing in a glass (the most common \"grandpa's method\")
Advantages:
Transparent and intuitive, allowing you to appreciate the graceful "standing" posture of the tea leaves throughout the brewing process (the tea dance), resulting in excellent color, aroma, and shape. Especially suitable for beginners and everyday drinking.
Quick heat dissipation prevents the tea buds from being over-steeped, resulting in a clear and refreshing tea soup.
Simple operation: The middle-pouring method (pour 1/3 of the hot water first, add the tea leaves, let it sit for 30 seconds, then fill the rest) or the bottom-pouring method are both acceptable, and it's convenient to drink it all in one cup.
Disadvantages:
It's not possible to pour the tea quickly; the concentration is harder to control after the second infusion; the aroma dissipates slightly faster.
Many local tea farmers in Hangzhou prefer to drink from glass cups themselves, finding it simple and pure.
Gaiwan Brewing (Gongfu Tea Style)
Advantages:
Quick pouring, allowing precise control of each infusion time (starting from 10-30 seconds, gradually increasing), and multiple infusions reveal different aromas and flavors.
Excellent aroma concentration; the white porcelain gaiwan contrasts beautifully with the green tea, enhancing the aesthetic appeal; and more stable tea temperature control.
Suitable for serious tea connoisseurs who compare Longjing teas from different origins/batches.
Disadvantages:
Slightly requires some skill to master (scalding hands, frequent washing); beginners may experience tea turning yellow or poor pouring.
Visually, it's not as visually appealing as a glass cup where you can directly see the full "tea dance."
My personal experience: I use a glass for everyday drinks when I'm feeling lazy, and a gaiwan for leisurely enjoyment on weekends. Ultimately, it depends on the individual's situation and mood—a glass is more practical, while a gaiwan is more professional and elegant.
High-quality pre-Qingming Longjing tea, though subtle, is not tasteless.
It boasts a rich aroma of beans or chestnuts, with top-grade pieces sometimes exhibiting orchid notes (rarely seen even by locals, and often unavailable or unaffordable for the average person). This aroma is very pronounced, requiring no imagination. The flavor is mineral-rich, fresh, with a noticeable sweet aftertaste and layered changes. While subtle, it is never boring, but rather full of enjoyment.
Longjing tea has three varieties: Quntizhong, Longjing 43, and Wuniuzao. Quntizhong is the original variety; Longjing 43 is a selectively bred variety based on Quntizhong; Wuniuzao is not really considered Longjing.
The differences between Quntizhong and Longjing 43 are not significant. Longjing 43, being a later cultivation, often uses younger tea trees, sometimes resulting in a more pronounced freshness; Wuniuzao, on the other hand, usually tastes bland and tasteless.
Generally, production areas are divided into primary production areas and secondary production areas.
Lion Peak, a first-class production area
Longwu, a secondary production area
Differences in tea-making standards: There are three types: the first is purely handmade, the second is semi-handmade (the first step of fixing is done by machine, and the second step is done by hand), and the third is fully machine-made.
Brewing Method
Pre-Qingming Longjing tea should be brewed in an open glass cup to allow for faster heat dissipation. Brewing it with a lid or in a teapot will ruin the quality.
The taste of Longjing tea varies from year to year due to different climates, just like the vintage of wine. In a bad year, even the most reliable tea factory can't salvage the situation.
For example, if you buy this year's pre-Qingming Longjing, the production area, variety, tea factory, and processing may all be fine, but it will still be bland and tasteless.
This is a matter of nature.
Let me first explain that West Lake Longjing tea has five core first-level production areas. Only tea picked from these areas is genuine West Lake Longjing. Many teas from other production areas are being sold under the name of West Lake Longjing, and many vendors sell counterfeit tea in pursuit of profit.
As a native of Meijiawu, I'd like to share a few points to help you distinguish genuine Longjing tea:
The color should be yellowish-green. If the Longjing tea you have is bright green, it's fake.
New tea shouldn't have a strong bitter or astringent taste; it should be fresh and sweet aftertaste. Experienced tea drinkers need to judge this by taste. If the tea tastes very astringent, it's definitely fake. If it makes your stomach uncomfortable, it's also likely fake.
The five major first-grade production areas are all in the hands of tea farmers. Only these farmers receive official traceability codes issued by the government. If your tea doesn't have a code, it's most likely fake. Even with a traceability code, it's not 100% guaranteed to be authentic Longjing. Some merchants will pay to buy traceability codes from tea farmers.
Price can also reveal a lot. Longjing tea is divided into pre-Qingming tea, pre-rain tea, post-rain tea, and spring tea. If the price of your pre-Qingming tea is cheap, it's definitely not genuine. I'll convert it to US dollars for reference: Pre-Qingming tea $250-$2200 per 500 grams.
I hope this helps.
