“We did not care for this tea. It seemed over-toasted, lacking in complexity, and was pretty mediocre. Expensive and had an unusual flavor for this type of tea.” Read full tasting note
This “yu qian” (pre-rain) Longjing comes from Shifeng (狮峰, lit. translation “Lion Peak”) located within the 168 square km production region of Xihu. This tea represents an opportunity to try an affordable, high quality, and authentic Longjing from the proper production region.
There are 5 areas within the Xihu (west lake) production area that produce Longjing, each with their own minor differences in processing: Shifeng (considered the top sub-region in terms of quality), Longjing, Yunxi, Hupao, and Meijiawu. Tea from these regions are considered as authentic Xihu Longjing. Other “Longjing” is technically Zhejiang Longjing from Qiantang or Yuezhou.
This tea was not picked as early in the season as the often sought after pre-qing Longjing, however, it is an effective way to keep the price several times lower without much sacrifice in terms of quality or flavour.
Other characteristics of yuqian/pre-rain tea are that the appearance may not be as pretty, due to the leaves being a bit older. However, it is also due to this feature that there is a somewhat deeper flavour and additional ability to be pushed for further infusions.
The differences between pre-qing and pre-rain do exist, but the extent to which its quality matches its price is debatable. For many “老茶客” (old tea heads) in China who drank Longjing growing up, this is considered the true flavour and most authentic experience.
This tea is available immediately in limited quantity (25g each), for a limited time to ensure freshness. For higher grades of Longjing, please see our private order grades of Shifeng Longjing.
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