Who said you had to be part of the royal class?
Back in the day, dragonwell (aka 龍井 longjing) tea was exclusively consumed by Chinese emperors and members of the royal class. Those long, flat pan fried leaves stood out when most other teas were either still powdered or simply did not look remotely similar.
You’ll no doubt be treating yourself when you taste the nutty flavors these leaves magically unlock. The best dragonwell teas hail from West Lake (西湖 xihu) in Hangzhou, where the remarkably clean water plus great growing conditions lend themselves to the best taste.
This pre-rain dragonwell is no exception to that rule of thumb, with pre-rain referring to the beginning April (usually between 4/4-4/6) to mid-April time span in which a dragonwell tea is picked following the China’s Qingming festival.
Thousands of leaf buds were picked before being pan fried, pressed, and skillfully tossed by the tea master, resulting in is phenomenal texture and purity not found in any of the mass produced dragonwells you commonly see. The best part? You don’t have to be “royalty” to experience this. You’re already a VIP in our book with this dragonwell.
The nitty gritty in case you have lots of time or are super curious and want to know everything
Origin: Zhejiang, China
Harvest: Spring 2021
Flavor Notes: Watercress, chestnuts, sweet
Mouth Feel: Light to medium body, buttery, clean
