Country of Origin: China
Leaf Appearance: jade green, flat
Ingredients: green tea
Steep time: 4 minutes
Water Temperature: 170 degrees
Preparation Method: glass teapot
Liquor: very pale gold
Long Jing, also known as Dragonwell, is one of my favorite types of green tea. This particular one is from Palais des Thés’s Grand Cru collection. Although this is last year’s harvest, the leaves were still in fairly good shape. The taste was sweet with the signature nutty aroma that I have come to expect from this tea. That roastiness was accompanied by a pleasant vegetal quality that reminded me a bit of asparagus. There was also an interesting minerality that I wouldn’t have expected from a green tea. My favorite way to drink Dragonwell is “grandpa style” but this one is a bit too pricey for loosey goosey brewing. I opted for my trusty glass teapot since the brewing directions were more of a western style. An interesting but indistinct fruitiness cropped up during my second infusion. I wound up drinking three whole pots. That’s a lot of tea! I wish that I had enough leaves to try it again using my glass gaiwan instead.
To find out more about how Dragonwell got its name, check out my Legends of the Leaf post!
Long Jing Premium Green Tea sample provided by Le Palais des Thés.