What are the producing areas of Longjing tea, is it a green tea, and which brand is better?
When it comes to Longjing tea, everyone knows West Lake Longjing, because Longjing tea originated in the area around Longjing Village in the West Lake District of Hangzhou. In recent years, as the West Lake Longjing tea market has boomed, demand has also increased year by year, and the producing areas of Longjing tea have been extending to the surroundings of West Lake Village. The Longjing tea standard newly revised in 2008 redrew the boundaries of the Longjing tea producing areas. So do you know where the producing areas of Longjing tea are? Which brand of Longjing tea is better? Does Longjing tea belong to green tea? Next I will take you through it together.
The national standard for Longjing tea states: Longjing tea is divided into three major producing areas, West Lake, Qiantang and Yuezhou. Among them, the Longjing tea planted and made within the West Lake producing area is called West Lake Longjing, while the Qiantang and Yuezhou producing areas may only be called Zhejiang Longjing or Longjing tea, and may not use the word “West Lake”, which would cause misunderstanding among consumers.
1. The West Lake producing area of Longjing tea
The West Lake producing area accounts for about 10% of the total output of Longjing tea. The West Lake producing area is further divided into a first-grade producing area and a second-grade producing area. The first-grade producing area is divided into the five core producing areas of “Shifeng, Longjing, Yunqi, Hupao and Meijiawu”.
1. Shifeng, a producing area of West Lake Longjing
It includes Shifeng Mountain, Longjing Village, Qipan Mountain, and Shang Tianzhu, the birthplace of Longjing tea. The Shifeng producing area has loose, fertile soil, lush vegetation and swirling clouds and mist, forming the most suitable environment for the growth of Longjing tea trees. The overall tea quality of Shifeng Longjing ranks first among the five major producing areas.
2. Longjing, a producing area of West Lake Longjing
It includes the area around Longjing Mountain, Wengjia Mountain, Yangmei Ridge, Manjuelong and Baihe Peak. The tea garden environment is very similar to that of the Shifeng producing area. In particular, the Longjing tea produced around Baihe Peak is on a par with Shifeng Longjing in quality.
3. Yunqi, a producing area of West Lake Longjing
It includes the area around Yunqi, Wuyun Mountain and the west of Langdang Ridge, and its range is the southernmost of the five major producing areas. The Yunqi producing area is densely covered with bamboo forests, the soil is extremely fertile, and the temperature and humidity are very suitable for the growth of tea trees. The Longjing tea grown there has thick buds and leaves, is rich in nutrients and trace elements, and has a tea quality with unique characteristics.
4. Hupao, a producing area of West Lake Longjing
It includes the area around Hupao, Siyanjing, Chishanbu and Santaishan. Since ancient times there has been the saying “Hupao water, Longjing tea”. The Hupao producing area has the best water quality, rich in minerals such as potassium, zinc and magnesium. As the saying goes, “good water breeds good tea”. The West Lake Longjing tea from the Hupao producing area has the excellent characteristics of a delicate, quiet aroma and a fresh, mellow taste.
5. Meijiawu, a producing area of West Lake Longjing
Meijiawu, also known as Meijiawu Tea Culture Village. It originally belonged to the Yunqi producing area. After the liberation of New China, the Meijiawu producing area expanded rapidly, and its current tea output is one third of the total of the core producing areas. The tea from the Meijiawu Longjing producing area has the characteristics of dry tea leaves that are emerald green in color and a fresh, clear aroma.
6. The second-grade producing area of West Lake Longjing
The second-grade producing area is the Longjing produced in the West Lake District apart from the first-grade producing area. It mainly includes the area around Longwu Township, Liuxia Town, Zhuantang Town and Zhoup u Town in the West Lake District.
2. The Qiantang producing area of Longjing tea
The Qiantang producing area accounts for about 30% of the total output of Longjing tea. Its producing areas include Xiaoshan, Yuhang, Fuyang, Lin'an, Tonglu, Jiande, Chun'an and other areas.
3. The Yuezhou producing area of Longjing tea
The Yuezhou producing area accounts for about 60% of the total output of Longjing tea. Its producing areas include Shaoxing, Zhuji, Shengzhou, Xinchang, Shangyu, Dongyang, Panyang, Tiantai and other areas.
4. Does Longjing tea belong to green tea
1. Does Longjing tea belong to green tea? As for Longjing tea, it is also one of the green teas, and it is a premium product among green teas, and it ranks first among China's ten famous teas. West Lake Longjing tea in particular, whether in its appearance, liquor color or taste, is very good, and can be called the outstanding one among Longjing teas.
2. The brewed Longjing tea liquor is green, bright and glossy, and looks very clear, and the tea liquor smells very strongly fragrant and tastes very good. After brewing, the Longjing tea leaves unfold at the bottom of the cup one by one, very neat and very beautiful.
5. Which brand of West Lake Longjing is good?
1. West Lake brand Longjing
West Lake brand Longjing was founded in 1949 by Hangzhou Tea Factory Co., Ltd., has a history of 2000 years, and is a time-honored enterprise in the place of origin of West Lake Longjing. Through decades of effort, it has continuously spread tea culture and provided the country and tea lovers with authentic, high-quality West Lake Longjing.
2. Lion brand West Lake Longjing
Hangzhou Shifeng Tea Co., Ltd. was founded in 1985. It is a professional enterprise that upholds the traditional craft of West Lake Longjing and integrates research and development, production and marketing. The company has two national-level tea evaluators and more than thirty senior tea-frying masters. The company insists on the principles of a unified processing site, unified purchase of fresh leaves, unified processing standards and hand-frying for all products, creating the optimization of the West Lake Longjing tea brand and ensuring that every consumer buys every leaf of tea produced in the place of origin.
3. Gong brand West Lake Longjing
Gong brand West Lake Longjing Co., Ltd. takes “safeguarding the reputation of Gong brand Longjing tea and protecting the interests of the broad masses of consumers” as its purpose. The company mainly deals in the “Gong” brand series of Longjing tea. The “Gong” brand Longjing tea produced by the company comes from West Lake in Hangzhou and is deeply favored by everyone for its characteristics of “green color, rich fragrance and sweet taste”.
4. Yu brand West Lake Longjing
Hangzhou Longjing Tea Industry Co., Ltd. is located on the shore of West Lake, where the scenery is beautiful and which is the world-famous place of origin of “West Lake Longjing tea”. The land here is fertile and the rainfall is abundant, and most importantly, it is shrouded in clouds and mist all year round, which are the best natural conditions for producing tea. Together with people's careful cultivation and picking, the outstanding quality of “Yu” brand West Lake Longjing is ultimately formed.