Longjing tea

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**Longjing**

Type:	Green

Other names:	Simplified Chinese: 龙井, Traditional Chinese: 龍井, Lung Ching, Dragon Well
Origin:	Zhejiang Province, China

Quick description:	Very gentle and sweet, these teas can be quite expensive. The tea leaves can be eaten after infusion.

Longjing tea (Simplified Chinese: 龙井茶; Traditional Chinese: 龍井茶; pinyin: lóngjǐngchá) is a famous variety of green tea from Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China where it is produced mostly by hand and has been renowned for its high quality. Longjing is divided into seven grades: Superior (qiqiang), Special (queshe), and then 1 down to 5.

Longjing tea leaves are pan fried (unlike most other teas, which are steamed) to stop the fermentation process. In the world of tea, the term "fermentation" refers to the drying of the freshly picked leaves, resulting in enzymatic oxidation. This oxidation is stopped by frying or steaming the leaves before they completely dry out. As is the case with other green teas, Longjing tea leaves are unfermented. When steeped, the tea produces a yellow-green color, a gentle, pure aroma, and a rich flavor. The tea contains Vitamin C, amino acids, and the highest concentration of catechins among teas.

The name of this tea literally means "dragon well", a well that contains relatively dense water, and after rain the lighter rainwater floating on its surface sometimes exhibits a sinuous and twisting boundary with the well water, which is supposed to resemble the movement of a traditional Chinese dragon.

Longjing tea was a favourite of many emperors of China. Most notable is Qianlong. It was widely known that to achieve the best taste from Longjing, spring water from the "Hu Pao Quan" was to be used. Water is boiled then cooled to about 80 degrees celsius before being used to brew the tea leaves.

1 Falsification
2 Varieties
3 References

[edit] Falsification

It is stated that the majority of Longjing tea is in fact fake, that is not from Zhejiang but from Sichuan and hence an altogether different tea,[1] credible sellers may sometimes provide anti-fake labels[2] or openly state that the tea is not from Zhejiang.

[edit] Varieties

Xi Hu Longjing: Is an example of the very standard convention of naming, the Xi Hu (West Lake) is a place where this particular Longjing is grown. This Longjing, also known as West Lake Longjing is a China Famous Tea, in fact the most famous one and is grown in the Zhejiang Province near Xi Hu lake. It is grown in a designated area of 168 square kilometres.

Bai Longjing: Not a true Longjing but looks like one and is commonly attributed, it is actually a Bai Pian. It comes from Anji in the Zhejiang Province. It was created in the early 80's and is a Green tea from a race of White tea trees and is hence very unusual, it is said to contain more amino acids than ordinary Green tea.

Qian Tang Longjing: This tea comes from just outside the Xi Hu Longjing designated area, in Qian Tang. It is generally not as expensive as Xi Hu Longjing.

Mei Jia Wu Longjing: This tea is grown in the Mei Jia Wu village in Zhejiang Province famous for producing teas, early teas can fetch up to 6000 yuan per kilogram (2005 data) direct from the growers.