Longjing

Longjing is a famous variety of green teafrom Hangzhou, ZhejiangProvince, Chinawhere it is produced mostly by hand and has been renowned for its high quality. Longjing is divided into 7 grades: Superior (qiqiang), Special (queshe) and then 1 down to 5.

Longjing tea leavesare pan fried (unlike most teas which are steamed) to stop the fermentation process. In the world of tea, the term 'fermentation' refers to the drying of the freshly picked leaves, resulting in enzymatic oxidation. This oxidation is stopped by frying or steaming the leaves before they completely dry out. As is the case with other green teas, Longjing tea leaves are unfermented. When steeped, the tea produces a yellow-green color, gentle pure aroma, and a rich flavor. The tea contains Vitamin C, amino acids, and the highest concentration of catechinsamong teas.

Falsification

It is stated that the majority of Longjing tea is in fact fake, that is not from Zhejiangbut from Sichuanand hence an all together different tea ([1]), credible sellers may sometimes provide anti-fake labels ([2]) or openly state that the tea is not from Zhejiang.

Varieties

Xi Hu Longjing

Is an example of the very standard convention of naming, the Xi Hu(West Lake) is a place where this particular Long Jing is grown. This Longjing, also known as West Lake Longjing is a China Famous Tea, in fact the most famous one and is grown in the ZhejiangProvince near Xi Hu lake. It is grown in a designated area of 168 square kilometres.

Bai Longjing

Not a true Longjing but looks like one and is commonly attributed, it is actually a Bai Pian. It comes from Anjiin the ZhejiangProvince. It was created in the early 80's and is a Green teafrom a race of White teatrees and is hence very unusual, it is said to contain more amino acidsthan ordinary Green tea.

Qian Tang Longjing

This tea comes from just outside the Xi Hu Longjing designated area, in Qian Tang. It is generally not as expensive as Xi Hu Longjing.

Mei Jia Wu Longjing 

This tea is grown in the Mei Jia Wu village in ZhejiangProvince famous for producing teas, early teas can fetch up to 6000 yuanper kilogram direct from the growers.

Shi Feng Longjing

This tea is grown on Shi Feng mountain in the ZhejiangProvince.

References

• Famous teasof China, a list on Teaspring
• Xi HuLongjing on Teaspring
• Bai Longjingon Babelcarp
• Bai Longjingon Teaspring
• Qian Tang Longjingon Teaspring
• Price for Mei Jia Wu Longjingon Hangzhou.com.cn
• Tea Talkon Longjing falsificationzh:???

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia article Longjing.