Tea: Dragonwell (Minghou Longjing- 明后龙井)
Type: Hangzhou Green Tea
Harvest: Mid April 2023
Region: Qiantang, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
Producers: Nine Trees (九树)
Tasting Notes: lilacs, sweet cream, chestnut, edamame, buttered toast
No other green tea in China has as much renown as Dragon Well Green Tea from Hangzhou's West Lake Reservation. This renown is well-earned, as Dragon Well Green Tea has always held to a high standard of growing conditions and production methods, preserving and raising the standard for green tea across the country.
Dragon Well is quite the unique green tea. It provides notes of buttered toast, chestnut, and a delicious grassy sweetness that is unlike any other green. Good Dragon Well is slow to bitter, but still strong in the mouth, rich with umami and a noticeable huigan (or returning sweetness 回甘 huígān).
Our Dragonwell comes from the ancient production village of Qiantang, just across the Qiantang river from the Scenic West Lake area in Hangzhou. While it is just outside the core production region for Longjing, it is produced by some of the most serious longjing makers we met in the Manjuelong village, and is impressive in its characteristic nutty savor and its delicate orchid fragrance.
We recommend brewing this tea in a gaiwan (2.5 grams to 100ml water with flash infusions) or in a tall glass grandpa style (3 grams to 8 oz of water with a death steep).
If you're curious about Grandpa-style brewing, check out our YouTube video about it!
If you'd like to know more about how we sourced this tea, and the people behind making it, check out our podcast Tea Soup, particularly, the dragonwell episodes
