Choosing the Best Dragon Well Tea

Green tea provides many anti-oxidants and other health benefits, which is why many people drink Dragon Well tea, in order to keep their healthy. Green tea has been shown to help with weight loss, protection against toxins, relaxation, anti-aging benefits and many other reported health benefits. Different brewing way and grade of the dragon well gives different feelings. Here can be found a way for choosing dragon well tea.

Dragon Well tea, also known as Longjing tea, is a delicious variety of roasted green tea which is produced in West Lake in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province of China and is widely known for it's high quality, which has earned it the title of “China Famous Tea”.

China has a very unique and interesting tea culture that has been around for thousands of years, but even modern day China has it's own unique tea drinking rituals and culture.   One of the teas enjoyed the most by the Chinese is Dragon Well green tea as well as a variety of other delicious green teas.

Although in China, drinking green tea has been a tradition for years, it is only recently that the Western world has discovered this delight as well.  It provides many anti-oxidants and other health benefits, which is why many people drink Longjing Tea, in order to retain the health benefits of green tea.

Green tea has been shown to help with weight loss, protection against toxins, relaxation, anti-aging benefits and many other reported health benefits.

However, due to different ways of picking and processing it, not all green teas are alike. There are many different classifications of green tea, depending on which leaves were picked, where they were picked and when they were picked along with how they were processed into the final product that you drink.  Here are several ways green teas are classified so that you can tell the difference between a quality Dragon Well and a lower quality green tea.

Growing Regions

Most tea plantations in the world, when looking at a globe, are located between the coordinates of 49°N and 33°S, and the larger group of them is between 6°N and 22°N. Dragon Well green tea, which is located in the golden district 30°N in china, is grown in a suitable climate for the most optimal green tea, kindly sunlight and precipitation. Its trees which are grown high in the mountains are of much higher quality than the trees which are grown at lower levels.

The Differences Between Dragon Well

The Dry Dragon Well Tea Leaves Before Brewing:

In Dragon Well green teas, the appearance of the dry leaf is smooth, flat and spear-like. For grade A, the color of the dry leaf is yellow-green with a straight flat body, and one leaf and bud which are well-proportioned. It has a light, delicate grassy fragrance and is smooth to the touch.

The Grade B is called Premium Grade Dragon Well Green Tea, which also has a green color, but the color is a much deeper green with a much more intense fragrance and flavor. It has a very elegant flavor to it.

The leaf of Grade C is much darker and the leaves are tight and heavy. It smells very mild and light but does not keep well in storage for as long as the other grades.

Differences when brewing Dragon Well Tea

Flavor and Aroma

With Grade A Longjing tea, it presents a delicate and aromatic fragrance that is smooth and long lasting and similar to that of a freshly plucked green bean. It tastes very fresh, smooth and mellow with a hint of natural sweetness.

In the Grade B Longjing tea, the leaves will brew up to a bright green liquor with a mellow fresh taste that has no sharpness to it. It is smooth and delicious.

Grade C Longjing tea will not store for very long before going bitter. However, if brewed while still fresh it has a very mild flavor similar to the Grade B Dragon Well, but the leaves brew up a much more deeply green color than the other two grades.

The Brewed Tea Leaves and Buds

You can also tell the difference between different grades of Dragon Well green tea by simply observing the brewed tea leaves. You can see that the Grade A Dragon Well on the far left is still very brightly colored, even after brewing.  The other two grades are more of a dark green color.

Additionally, the Grade A Dragon Well is always tender, slight and thin leaves with a very light appearance while the other grades look thicker and the leaves appear broader.

The Appearance of Grade A Dragon Well Tea

The Fragrance of the Brewed Dragon Well

To properly brew Dragon Well, add approximately 3 grams of tea in your teapot and brew with hot, purified water for about about 1 minutes. Then pouring your tea into your cup, observe the brewed tea, it will be light and delicate with a lightly floral fragrance that lingers. Even when the tea begins to cool, the lightly grassy floral fragrance remains.

The Color of the Brewed Dragon Well

Observe carefully the color of the brewed tea liquor. A high-quality Dragon Well has a tender green, clear and bright color, with a touch of yellow. The darker the liquor is colored, the lower the quality of it.

The Flavor of the Brewed Dragon Well Tea

The best way to distinguish a nice, high quality Dragon Well is by it's flavor. It is just as aromatic, smooth and mellow to taste as it's aroma leads us to believe. A high quality Dragon Well will always be soft and mellow flavored, never grassy or harsh. The higher quality Dragon Well often have a slight floral note in their undertones with very green and smooth overtones. Finally, you can always observe the tea as it is brewing to notice the color, flavor and depth of the more subtle notes in a fine Dragon Well. A fine Dragon Well will be light and spear-like with mellow and slightly floral notes, while the lower grades of Dragon Well brew up darker with sharper notes to them.

A better well done tea need a better brewing method. Once you have a higher grade Dragon well, the way of the brewing metod has effects on it. You can follow our article Brewing Chinese Top Grade Dragon Well Green Tea, it will give you some ideas about this.

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  • My husband bought Longjing and Oolong tea in China and lots of it- in red metal cans. It is sealed in a zip lock bag inside the can but was never refrigerated. It is pretty old but I’ve recently started drinking it every day. If it is older than 18 months, what could happen if i drink it anyway? It still tastes pretty good- especially the Oolong… Im hoping it would still have “some” benefits even if its not brand new?
    Kind regards

    • TeaVivre

      Dear Audrey, Thanks for your question.
      Green tea belongs to unfermented tea and the average shelf life of green tea is approximately 18 months, then it begins to fade in flavor if keep it too long. However, under certain conditions, the shelf life still can be extended to more than three years.
      Oolong tea is a kind of semi-fermented tea, and the shelf life of this tea is about 2 years. In addition, the shelf life of Oolong depends on the degree of fermentation and storage method.
      There are five enemies that you should keep away: light, air, heat, moisture, and odor.
      Due to it is sealed in a zip lock bag inside red metal cans. If it’s sealed completely, maybe light, air, moisture, and odor not a big problem. If you keep it in a cool place, even it’s not refrigerated. it still can keep the tea’s quality. Anyway， you’d better drink the tea as less as possible, If the teas smells strange or it’s moldy. Then you should throw it away.

  • Hello!
    How do I store grade A longing green tea?

    • TeaVivre

      Hi,

      Thank you very much for writing to us. For the green teas, you can seal it first and then put it in the refrigerator. The Shelf life of Long JIng is 18 months.

      Hope this is helpful for you.

  • I bought Longjing Tea when I visited Hangzhou in 2010 and it was quite expensive. I gave it to my parents as a gift when I went back to the Philippines they stored it in the refrigerator then forgot about it. I recently found it today and I was wondering if we could still consume it after 5 years? I hope you’ll reply. Thank you!

    • TeaVivre

      Hi Sara,

      Thank you very much for writing to us.

      Usually the shelf life of green tea is 18 months. You have keeped the tea for 5 years. So I suggest that please do not drink the tea any more. Hope this is helpful for you.

  • Hi
    I have bought this tea from China l bought 3 box of dragon well tea is very good before I have blood pressure but when I start drinking this tea I feel better I would like to know is thisloses weights thanks

    • TeaVivre

      Dear Musarat,

      Thank you very much for writing to us.
      Glad to hear that after drinking tea you feel better. About drinking green tea for weight lose, you can click this link to see another package: https://www.teavivre.com/info/green-tea-weight-loss/. Hope this is helpful for you. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

  • TT

    Hi. i have begun drinking Long Jing tea, i think perhaps its grade B or C. I am looking to purchase other equipment from your site but wanted to ask you, i am currently drinking Long Jing tea, brewing it in the traditionally chinese way but using a yixing tea pot and cups, kongfu style. I find i prefer to do this than in glass since i dont like to see the tea leaves. Is this done in China and do you have any tips on how brew it with Yiixing teaware? I find that the best flavour is the first brew, 1.5 minutes but i have tried 2 minutes, 3 minutes for the second brew, the flavor is not close at all. Any suggestions?

    • TeaVivre

      Hi,
      Thank you very much for writing to us.
      Actually, the Yixing Zisha teapot can not be used to brew green tea. For the Yixing Zisha teaware has the quanlity of keeping water warm. But the green tea can not use high temprature to brew and the steeping time is also very short. So the best container to brew green tea is glass teaware or Gaiwan. Furthermore, usually green tea can only be brewed 2-3 steeps. Hope this is helpful for you. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

  • Dear Sir,
    Can I know how long can I keep my Longjing Tea before it goes spoil ? When to discard, though appearance, colour, smell or ….. ?
    Please advise.
    Thanks & regards
    Jeffery Fong

    • TeaVivre

      Dear Jeffery,
      Thank you very much for writing to us.
      Usually the shelf life of Long Jing Tea is about 18 months. And during the shelf life you must keep the tea well. If the color of the tea is brown and has no flavor, then you should not drink this tea any more. The Green Teas can be put into a sealed package and then put in refrigerator. In refrigerator the flavor and color of the teas can be stored well. Hope this is helpful for you. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

  • I had cough more than 3 months because of acid reflux. I drank long-jing green
    tea two days. I don’t have cough anymore.
    Long jing green tea is amazing

    • TeaVivre

      Hello Hema, glad to hear that the dragon well tea helps. It can help on healing your coughing maybe because green tea is alkalic. So it can neutralize the acid. But it is suggested to follow your doctor’s advice for curing the desease. Wish you good health!

  • Do You have a grade A in your shop?

    • TeaVivre

      Currently we don’t have grade A dragon well on our site. But we have much higher grade dragon well green tea, the Organic Nonpareil Ming Qian Dragon Well and Organic Superfine Dragon Well.

  • I’m not sure if there’s a programmable mcahine that’s specific to making tea I know there’s a Mr. Tea mcahine though, just not sure if you can program it, or if you can make hot tea in it.Why can’t you use a programmable coffee mcahine though? Use tea bags or loose tea in the filter area where you put the coffee. The coffee mcahine doesn’t know it’s tea.References :

    • TeaVivre

      It is a good idea. Thank you.

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