Description
Features of this Pre- Qingming Longjing Qunti(Old Tree) Grade A
Cultivar: Longjing Qunti (Old Tree) (What is Longjing Qunti)
Origin: Hangzhou, China.
Harvest Season: Pre-Qingming (What is Pre-Qingming Longjing)
Appearance: This high-grade tea is flat and slender in shape after hot pan-firing, each leaf is at best integrity and measures between 1-2 cm in length. Each tip is perfectly flattened in the work by an expert with 30+ years of tea-making experience. The leaves are hand-picked during the first week of spring tea production, so the overall color of the tea is yellow-green which is the color of authentic premium Westlake Longjing Qunti
Aroma: Made during the very start of the spring harvest, this tea has a light refreshing sweet aroma like a spring breeze on a sunny morning. The smell is between chestnuts and toasty.
Taste: The flavor is sweet, fruity, and soothing. Its thick tea scent and multi-level aftertaste will linger in your mouth for a long while.
Brewing Tips:
- Brewing temperature: 85-95°C
- Brewing duration: 180+ seconds
What is west lake Longjing tea?
West Lake Longjing, is a green tea that is produced in the mountains around Longjing Village, West Lake, Hangzhou, China. It has a history of more than 1200 years. It served the imperial family as imperial tea since the Qing Dynasty.
Premium West Lake Longjing tea is flat, smooth, and straight, with a tender green color, fresh and sweet taste. Longjing tea harvested before the Qingming Festival is referred to as Pre-Qingming Longjing or Pre-Qingming Dragonwell, and the one harvested before the rainy season GuYu is called Pre-Yu Longjing or Pre-Yu Dragonwell.
West Lake Longjing is produced in the mountains around West Lake. The climate here is mild, with abundant rainfall and diffuse light. The soil is slightly acidic, deep, and well-drained. The forest is lush and the streams are always flowing. The annual average temperature is 16℃ and the annual precipitation is around 1500mm. The superior natural conditions have made West Lake Longjing the top green tea in China
What is Longjing Qunti?
Longjing Old Tree, also called Longjing Qunti, that is, the old tea trees passed down through the generations, locally known as “old tea tent”, “old Longjing”, which includes such as Longjing species, Yuntai Mountain tea, Ziyang Mountain tea, big leaf species, JiuKeng species, and many other varieties. For example, Emperor Qianlong’s imperial seal “eighteen imperial tea trees” is one of the Qunti species. With a history of thousands of years, the Qunti species has a main root, and the root system penetrates deeper into the soil, which is very adaptable to the geographical environment and has a strong resistance to drought and cold.
Brooks –
One of the most refreshing drinks on a hot summer day is a cup of good Longjing (Dragonwell) tea. Although it is not always easy to find good green tea in the west, especially high quality green tea that is also still fresh. If it weren’t for the team over at Trident and their dedication to sourcing the best and freshest green teas each season, I’d probably not have the appreciation for green teas that I do.
This Longjing is the “old tree original” lao cha qunti varietal which represents the traditional cultivar of Longjing green tea. It comes from SkyWell Mountain Tian Jing Shan (天井山) near the Dongmuwu (东穆坞村) village, which is a ways west of the famous West Lake (西湖) but still in the West Lake Nature Preserve. A small tea growing town that is known for its high-quality Longjing tea.
This “Grade A” version of the tea (considerably more expensive than the “Grade B” and newer #43 cultivar) has that classic nutty/vegetal Longjing taste that is easy to recognize, but with an added complexity and body that make it extra special. Having easy access to a green tea like this is not something you encounter often outside of China!