LONGJINGPEDIA · BREWING
Start Longjing with water below a full boil, a moderate amount of leaf and enough room for the leaves to open. About 80°C / 176°F is a useful starting point, but the best setting depends on the leaf, your water and the result in the cup.
Core answer and supporting detail
Quick answer: how to brew Longjing tea
- Use 3 g of leaf for about 250 ml of water in a glass, or 4 g for 100–120 ml in a gaiwan.
- Start with water around 80°C / 176°F, not a rolling boil.
- For a glass, let the leaf open for roughly two to three minutes and drink gradually. For a gaiwan, make short infusions and adjust as you taste.
- If it tastes bitter, use cooler water, less leaf or a shorter infusion. If it tastes thin, increase one of those variables gently.
Choose a glass for ease and observation
A tall clear glass is a relaxed way to drink Longjing. You can watch the flattened leaves soften and rise or fall. The tea remains in contact with water, so drink progressively and refill before the glass becomes empty or overly strong.
Simple glass method
- Use about 3 grams of leaf for 250 milliliters of water as a starting point.
- Cool freshly boiled water to roughly 80°C.
- Add water gently and allow the leaf to open.
- Begin drinking when the liquor has aroma and balance, usually after two to three minutes.
- Refill when one-third remains.
Choose a gaiwan for control
A gaiwan separates the liquor from the leaf, making it better for comparison and repeated tasting. Start near 4 grams per 100–120 milliliters and use short infusions. Delicate tea may prefer cooler water; a stronger or later-picked tea may need more heat to open.
Water matters more than many people expect
Very hard water can flatten aroma or make texture feel heavy. Strong chlorine can obscure sweetness. Soft, clean water with moderate mineral content is usually easier. If a trusted tea suddenly tastes dull, change the water before blaming the leaf.
Temperature is a tool, not a commandment
Use cooler water when bitterness or cooked-vegetable notes dominate. Increase temperature when the tea feels thin, closed or aromatically silent. Make one adjustment at a time so you can understand the result.
A number such as 80°C is a starting conversation with the leaf, not the final answer.
Common problems and fixes
| What you taste | First adjustment to try |
|---|---|
| Bitter, sharp or astringent | Use cooler water, less leaf or a shorter infusion. |
| Weak and empty | Add a little more leaf, use slightly hotter water or extend the infusion. |
| Good aroma but rough texture | Shorten the brew and check your water quality. |
| First infusion good, later brews flat | Increase heat gradually for the later infusions. |
| Stale flavour | Inspect storage rather than trying to fix it with technique. |
For a fuller diagnosis, read Why does Longjing tea taste bitter?
Should Longjing be rinsed?
For clean, well-stored tea, a discarded rinse is usually unnecessary and may remove part of the first aroma. If you choose to warm or awaken the leaf, use only a very quick contact and treat it as a sensory decision rather than a hygiene ritual.
How many times can it be infused?
Many Longjing teas give two or three satisfying infusions, but durability varies. Do not force a fixed number. Stop when aroma, texture and sweetness no longer give pleasure.
The starting recipes I actually use
For a glass, begin with 3 grams of leaf in about 200 millilitres of water near 85°C. Pour gently and start drinking when the leaves have opened and the liquor has clear aroma, usually after roughly two minutes; top up before the glass is empty. For a gaiwan, begin with 4 grams in 100 millilitres at the same temperature and pour the first infusion after about 20–30 seconds, then adjust in small steps. These are starting points, not laws. Our current batches are not designed around very cool water: below 85°C can make a well-fired Longjing seem thinner than it is. At the same time, boiling water and a long closed steep can flatten fragrance and pull excessive bitterness. The useful recipe is the one you can repeat and modify while keeping notes on leaf, water, time and result.
How the maker reads a brewing result
When a cup is weak, I ask whether the water was too cool, the leaf dose too low or the infusion poured too soon. Those three causes produce similar disappointment but require different corrections. When a cup is rough, I check time and concentration before blaming temperature alone. Good Longjing should tolerate warm water when the pour is controlled. I also smell the wet leaves after pouring. A clean, lively leaf aroma suggests the material still has more to give; a dull cooked smell can mean the infusion sat too long. Qunti often benefits from enough heat to open its nutty depth, while Longjing No. 43 can show its chestnut-like direction quickly. Neither should be forced into a fixed recipe, because picking week, leaf size and firing change extraction.
A controlled troubleshooting sequence
Change only one variable between infusions. For bitterness, shorten the pour by 10–15 seconds or reduce leaf by half a gram. For thin liquor, add half a gram or raise temperature slightly. For muted aroma, try fresher, softer water and pre-warm the vessel. For a tea that tastes good only when very cool, check whether the initial steep was too concentrated. Do not rinse delicate Longjing automatically; the rinse can remove part of the first aromatic infusion, and clean modern tea does not need ceremonial washing as a rule. Two or three satisfying infusions are more meaningful than claiming a large number. Stop when the liquor loses balance, not when a marketing promise says the leaves must continue. A written sequence makes brewing teachable and lets two teas be compared fairly.
Evidence, safety and limitations
Brewing guidance is practical rather than a protected standard. The official Longjing geographical-indication standard concerns product identity and quality context, not one universal household recipe. UNESCO’s documentation of traditional tea processing and social practices helps explain why preparation is part of a living tea culture rather than a single laboratory instruction. The ratios above reflect Jason Jin’s current practice with FineTeaChina Longjing. Vessel size, water chemistry, altitude, personal sensitivity and the specific batch all affect extraction. Use safe drinking water, avoid handling boiling vessels carelessly, and treat numerical recipes as controlled starting points that should be adjusted through taste.
A controlled three-cup brewing experiment
Prepare three cups with the same tea and water. Cup A uses 3 grams per 200 millilitres near 85°C for about two minutes. Cup B keeps the same temperature and time but uses 3.5 grams. Cup C returns to 3 grams and changes only the infusion time. Taste in the same order after the cups cool slightly. This small experiment shows whether the tea needs more concentration or more extraction without changing every variable at once. For a gaiwan, use the same logic with smaller volumes and shorter pours. Write down which cup has the best balance of aroma, texture, sweetness and finish, not simply the strongest flavour. Repeat only the winning method on another day. If the result changes dramatically, investigate water and storage before creating a more complicated recipe. Brewing becomes reliable when each adjustment answers a specific problem and can be repeated.
Frequently asked questions
Can I brew Longjing with boiling water?
You can, but it is usually not the best starting point. Full-boil water can make delicate green tea taste more bitter or cooked. Begin below boiling and raise the temperature only if the tea is too quiet or thin.
Boiling water is not automatically forbidden, but it leaves less room for error and can make a tender green tea seem coarse. If boiling water is your only option, use less leaf, pour gently and shorten the contact time. For a clearer baseline, let freshly boiled water cool and begin around 85 degrees C, then adjust after tasting. Hard water and a preheated vessel can increase extraction further, so temperature should be considered together with dose, vessel and infusion time.
How much Longjing tea should I use per cup?
Start with about 3 g for a 250 ml glass. Treat that as a baseline: use less for a lighter tea or more if you want a fuller cup, changing one variable at a time.
A practical starting point is about 3 grams for 200 millilitres, but cup size and drinking style matter. Increase the leaf when you want more aroma and texture while keeping infusions short; reduce it if the cup becomes dense or bitter. A kitchen scale is more reliable than a spoon because flat leaves occupy changing volumes. Keep the first test constant for two or three brews, then change only one variable. That makes the adjustment useful rather than random.
How long should Longjing tea steep?
In a glass, begin drinking after the leaves have opened and the tea smells balanced—often two to three minutes. In a gaiwan, use short infusions. Exact time depends on leaf amount, water temperature and vessel size.
For a glass, begin tasting after roughly one to two minutes rather than waiting for a rigid finish time, because the leaves may remain in the water while you drink. In a gaiwan or small pot, shorter repeated infusions usually give more control. Leaf quantity, temperature and vessel shape change the answer, so time cannot be prescribed alone. If the first cup is harsh, shorten the next infusion before lowering every other variable; if it is thin, extend time gradually.
Is a glass or gaiwan better for Longjing?
A glass is simple and lets you observe the leaves; a gaiwan gives more control over repeated infusions. Neither is inherently better. Choose the method that makes it easiest for you to repeat a good result.
A heatproof glass is simple, shows the leaf opening and suits casual top-up brewing. A gaiwan gives tighter control over contact time and makes side-by-side tasting easier. Neither vessel proves authenticity or produces quality that is absent from the leaf. Use a glass when you want an open, relaxed cup and a gaiwan when you want to compare infusions. Keep the vessel clean and avoid strongly scented clay or detergent residue, which can hide the tea’s quieter aromas.
Why do Longjing leaves float or sink?
Either can happen as dry leaves absorb water and release trapped air. It is not a dependable quality test. Focus on aroma, flavour, texture and freshness instead.
Floating and sinking change as dry leaves absorb water, release trapped air and soften. Leaf shape, dryness, surface tension and the way water is poured all affect the movement, so it is not a reliable grade test. Some leaves may remain suspended while others fall quickly in the same good batch. Judge the tea by a clean aroma, balanced extraction, intact wet leaf and transparent batch information. If leaves never wet evenly, pour along the vessel wall or gently stir once rather than using hotter water immediately.