Lung Ching (Longjing,
Dragon Well) Tea, the Cooling Tea
Since mentioned by Lu Yu himself, Lung Ching tea, one of China's
most famous, has been celebrated in prose and poem, including works
by famed Tang poet Su Dongpo. It is known for "four uniques": its
green color, mellow taste. aroma, and beautiful shape. It is
considered to have a cooling effect and is frequently served in hot
weather.
The flat, green leaves produce a clear, yellow-green tea with a
slightly sweet, aromatic fresh flavor and a lingering aftertaste
which is one of this tea's particular characteristics.
Lung Ching means Dragon Well (the dragon is the king of the waters
in Chinese mythology). The home of this tea is the village of that
name west of the famed West Lake in Zhejiang province, which lies
southwest of Shanghai. Another growing area southwest of the lake is
known as Nine Crooks and Eighteen Gullies (Jiuqu Shibajian), which
includes Meijia Village and Lion Peak. At Lion Peak, Qing dynasty
Emperor Qian Long drank this tea at the Wugong Temple. So pleased
was he that he conferred the title Imperial Tea on the produce of
the eighteen tea trees growing outside the temple.
Lung Ching has indeed some unique and wonderful features. The
finest grade, Qiqiang (Flagged Spear) Lung Ching has a bud and only
one leaf, thus being younger and superior to the customary "two
leaves and a bud" tea. In the cup, the buds float in the water with
the leaves pointing upright like spears, hence the name. The nest
grade, with two leaves, is known as Queshe (Sparrow's Tongue) Lung
Ching.
A pound of dry Lung Ching contains 25,000 bud-and-leaf sets, each
snipped off individually by skilled fingers. Lung Ching, unlike
other teas, is not rolled to shape the leaves. Pan-frying the leaves
requires great skill to match the temperature to the tenderness of
the leaves. Lung Ching tea won the Gold medal with Palms at the 1988
meeting of the International Institute for Quality Selection.
The best infusion of Lung Ching is make with water from Hupao
(Tiger Run) Spring, one of four nearby famous for their clear, sweet
water. This is a fault area of the Tiyun Mountains, with plenty of
quartzite rock which provides good filtration for the spring water.
Visitors to Hangzhou are almost always taken to Hupao Spring for a
cup of Lung Ching tea.
