Lung Ching [龙井](or Long Jing depending on the translated dialect), also known as Dragon Well tea, is grown only in HangZhou in Zhejiang province and gets its name from the village which it is grown.
The flavour of this tea is sweet, grassy and refreshing and has a lack of bitter astringency. It is one of China’s ten famous teas and the national drink of choice. It can be distinguished by the tea leaves distinctive flat and bright green appearance due to careful harvesting and the pressing of the leaves against a hot surface during processing.
Qing Ming or Pre-Rain Lung Ching borrows its name from the Qing Ming festival or Ancestors’ Day, usually falling around the first week of April. The young spring shoots are harvested before the Spring Grain rains, giving it a really short production time of just under two weeks. As a result of this early harvest, the tea is a much higher quality with a lighter colour and a sweeter and brighter flavour.
There are many ways that you can enjoy Pre-Rain Lung Ching. We find that brewing it in 70 degree water in a glass cup or teapot not only gives you the mellow sweet flavour, you can also enjoy the colour of the leaves. Or, if you are fancying something refreshing and cool for those warm summer days, why not brew it cold by leaving it in a pitcher in the fridge overnight? After steeping the leaves in cold water for 8 hours, you’ll have yourself deliciously sweet cold-infused Pre-Rain Lung Ching to enjoy as a palette cleanser, a refreshing ice cold drink, or even the base for a wine spritzer cocktail!
