Longjing — Dragon Well Green Tea (龙井茶)
I
Origin
Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province — West Lake district
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Description
China's most celebrated green tea, produced in the hills surrounding Hangzhou's West Lake. The flat, jade-green leaves are pan-fired in a bare wok (chao qing) using bare hands to halt oxidation — the wok temperature and hand pressure create the characteristic flat shape and toasty-sweet character. The highest grade, Ming Qian (before Qingming Festival, April 5), is harvested and processed within days — a matter of weeks defines the most expensive batches.
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The Thread
—Japanese gyokuro (both high-grade shade-grown/carefully processed green teas)
—French Champagne (prestige product defined by precise geographical designation)
—Italian Barolo DOCG (geographic protection of premium product)
IV
Flavour Context
Sweet, fresh-cut grass, chestnut notes, slight marine quality; no bitterness or astringency in high-grade examples; the cleanest expression of Chinese green tea
Pillars V — VII
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