What Is DragonWell or Longjing Chinese Green Tea?

Dragon Well tea is the most famous Chinese green tea. Long Jing Dragon Well or Lung Ching is the Chinese name for the unique shape of green flat-leaf tea. Discover why this Dragon Tea tea is so well-loved.

chinese dragon well dried leaves in a cup

There's no mistaking the buttery yellow liquor of this tea. Dragon Well (Long Jing) Chinese green tea with its flattened spear-like leaves opens up to reveal two leaves when brewed. One of China's best and most well-known teas. It tastes a little like toasted nuts with some vegetal notes of a subtle classic green tea taste.

If you don't like green tea, you haven't tried Dragon Well tea. It's a beautiful tea from the Camellia sinensis plant that will transform your love for green tea.

Common Names: Dragon Well, Long Jing, Longjing tea, Lung Ching (Chinese Dragon Tea)

Profile: Pale yellow liquor. Soft, rich, and toasty, with a chestnut aroma. Vegetal sweetness.

Region: Hangzhou in the West Lake region of Zhejiang province of eastern China.

Dry leaf: Flat leaf or bird's peak bud sets, smooth and slick to the touch.

What is Dragon Well Tea?

Dragon Well is China's most famous green tea and one of China's ten most famous teas. It's a pan-baked tea over hot woks. The leaves are flattened during the heating process. Longjing, which translates as dragon well, must be authentic to the Chinese Province of Zhejiang. Much like champagne, if grown anywhere else, it is not genuine.

Long Jing is a spring tea picked in early April, following Qing Ming, the traditional Chinese holiday for paying respects to their ancestors. The Qingming festival falls fifteen days after the Spring Equinox, usually the first week in April.

Chinese tea culture divides fresh green tea by their picking dates. Any tea picked before this date is costly and is a rare tea called Pre Qing Ming. Pre-Qing Ming tea is also called Imperial Long Jing and is one of the most celebrated teas. Early spring teas are the most flavorful.

How Do You Brew Dragon Well Green Tea?

Traditional methods use 6 grams of tea leaf for a 30-ounce teapot—about 4 grams for a 16-ounce cup and 2 grams for an 8-ounce cup. Use hot water at lower temperatures of 185 °F (85°C).

Recommended brewing in a small teapot, clear insulated glass, or gaiwan.
Pour heated, filtered water over tea leaves in a circular motion so the heat of the water will be even over the tea leaves. High-quality loose tea leaves can be reused multiple times.
Steeping Time: First infusion: 2-3 minutes. Second infusion: 3- 5 minutes. Subsequent infusions can be longer depending on how strong you like your tea.
Always pour water slowly and in a circle on high-end green tea. You can see the leaves start to drop after about 2 minutes. The liquor becomes pale fresh green.
If you want to strengthen it, wait until the color is richer. If your pot has a filter, you can remove it when your tea is strong enough.
If you are preparing in a cup or glass, you can drink straight from your cup without removing the tea leaves once they settle to the bottom. Your tea will never go bitter with higher-quality green tea.
You can drink straight from your cup after two minutes when all the leaves sink to the bottom of your cup.
Leave about one-fifth of your tea in your cup or pot before making your next infusion. You can reuse the same serving of tea leaves at least three to four times.

I prefer brewing in my clear insulated glass. It lets you see the leaf's beauty and the liquor's color while brewing. The glass steeper removes the brewed leaves and easily holds in the lid.

What does Dragon Well tea taste like?

Dragon Well is an excellent tea with a fresh, snap-pea, and slightly chestnut fragrance that appeals to most tea drinkers. It has a toasty smooth flavor with delicate nutty notes. It's never astringent or bitter-tasting when brewed correctly. The lightly roasted, subtle flavor reminds me of a little meadow.

Authentic Dragon Well tea has a signature chestnut aroma - an easy way to authenticate legitimate Long Jing tea. It stands up to multiple brews and does better with short brew times. It's one of my favorite green teas.

What is Dragon Well tea good for?

Long before our beloved tea was a beverage, it was used as a medicine and a culinary flavoring.

Cooking Tip:

Did you know you can baste your roast with leftover tea?

Dragon Well is perfect with a roasted chicken. Add the tea to the pan at the beginning of the cooking time. Baste the roast with the tea mixed in with the cooking juices. It couldn't be any easier.

Culinary Pairing:

Dragon Well has a nutty quality with slight astringency and pairs well with many kinds of cheese, such as Camembert or Brie. You might try pairing it with Gruyere, one of my favorite cheeses. It's lovely.

Dragon Well also pairs nicely with fruits, custards, and seafood. To learn more about tea and food, you might want to read Culinary Tea by Cynthia Gold. If you love tea and love cooking, this book is a must-have.

Although I've yet to try it, Cynthia advocates steeping Dragon Well in vodka.

Downtime:

Are you craving a little downtime? That's why I love rainy days. It's an excuse to take it slow.

The fresh sweet fragrance of the rain with its soft pattering sound makes it a perfectly relaxing day for cocooning, drinking Dragon Well tea, and taking in a good read.

Dragon Well Tea Benefits

Scientific research supports the role of tea in improving health.

In 2014 an analysis of 13 studies indicated that green tea consumption significantly lowers blood pressure. Source.
Tea may improve blood vessel function, lower blood pressure, and reduce stroke, heart attack, and other cardiovascular diseases by 10%.
Drinking tea may help mitigate the harmful effects of high-fat meals on blood vessel function. The most recent study published in the Journal of Food Science in February 2018 showed that polyphenols could negate the harmful effects of a high-fat diet on your intestinal (gut) flora in green tea.
Drinking several cups of green tea daily may help burn 100 calories daily. The same study suggests obesity and metabolic disorder associated with high-fat diets may be supported by green tea.
Tea has anticancer properties: Men drinking more than 1.5 cups of green tea daily had a 70% lower colon cancer risk.

Sources: Linus Pauling Institute, Fifth International Scientific Symposium on Tea and Human Health, Teausa.com

Does Dragon Well tea have caffeine?

Caffeine Content:

According to the Tea Advisory Panel, tea has about half the caffeine as coffee, about 50 mg per cup.

One specific study on Long Jing Shi Feng (Dragon Well) found that 5 grams (⅙ ounce) steeped at 185° F (85°C) for 4.5 minutes contains 48 mg of caffeine. Source.

Theanine:

It's also important to know that high-grade Dragon Well tea contains theanine, an excellent calming effect that naturally balances the caffeine. The caffeine in tea does not leave you with that jittery feeling.

Where to Buy Dragon Well Tea

Tea lovers may prefer to buy tea in person to taste the tea before they buy them. But with specialty teas, that's not always possible so you can purchase from some of my favorite tea shops online at a great price.

You'll find some excellent offerings of Dragon Well tea from five of my favorite go-to tea merchants:

Drink tea and be well.

Tea for Beginners Start Here >>