West Lake Longjing | 西湖龍井

 Tasting notes: Vegetal, chestnut, umami
 Origin: West Lake, Hangzhou, China
 Oxidation: ⦿○○○○

An easy-drinking version of China's most famous tea, our West Lake "Dragon Well" is mellow with a pleasant nutty, umami flavour.

Why we love it:

• It is one of China’s top ten teas with a history that goes back centuries—a tea that was immortalised in the poetry of Emperor Qianlong in the Qing dynasty.
• It has a savoury, grassy flavour that transforms into a sweet aftertaste in your mouth.
• Its nutty aroma comes from the kill-green process that stops oxidation, when the Tea Master pan-fires the leaves on a hot wok. He presses the leaves flat against the sides of the wok by hand, giving them a flat shape.
• It's made from the second spring harvest of the year (pre-Guyu/ before the Grain Rains). Because the plants have been explosed to more sun, the leaves are bigger and greener and the tea has a more robust flavour than Pre-Qingming Longjing.

What is Longjing tea?