Proper roasting is key to the classic taste of a fine Longjing

Besides the terra, the plant, and the quality of the pluck, mastery in processing is the single most important factor that contribute to the taste of a tea, particularly in genuine quality traditional teas. Longjing is an example.

While machines have been in used for decades now in producing various variations using this well-known green tea name, I still have to taste a product that can compare with a properly hand-roasted one.

Tea Hong’s Longjing Traditional Supreme is produced from the first flush of the ancient local cultivar rather than the recently developed ones. It grows less speedily, yields less, and needs more horticultural attention, but gives you a lot more tastes.

The fresh plucks are shade-withered and then roasted briefly at between 85°C to 95°C before resting for about an hour for auto-rehydration. They are then roasted at around 70°C repeatedly, while being pressed against the wok to finally take on the very flat form that this tea is known for.

By hand all the way. Many tea masters prefer actually the bare hand for achieving the desired result.

The flattening of the leaves is intended not for the look, but for the flavour. Gradual squeezing forces the leaf juice out in direct contact with the heat. The 200+ compounds are then roasted to the super rich umami and aromatic taste profile that made this tea famous centuries ago.

This same quality demands a few more times the price in local teashops on the street in Hangzhou, where this tea originates. We wish we can make even a quarter of that kind of margin. Operating an online shop has its limitation. I just want you to experience the genuine quality of this tea so you know what to look for.