2026 Pre-qingming Jing Shan Zen Tea 明前径山禅茶

Located in Yuhang District (余杭区) of Hangzhou, Jingshan Temple (径山寺) has been renowned as the “First of the Five Mountains of Jiangnan” since its founding in the Tang Dynasty. Perched atop mist‑shrouded Jing Mountain, it is not only a major centre of Zen Buddhism but also the birthplace of a tea culture that would eventually influence all of East Asia and the world - the origin of global matcha culture.

The most iconic tradition of Jingshan Temple is Jingshan Zen Tea (径山禅茶). Rooted in the principle of “entering Zen through tea” (以茶入禅), monks treat every step - plucking, steaming, cooling, kneading, and roasting - as a form of meditation. This method of steaming green leaves, grinding them into powder, and whisking them into tea is the prototype of what we now call matcha. During the Southern Song dynasty, Japanese monks such as Eisai and Dogen Zenji (道元禅師) travelled to Jingshan Temple to study Zen. They brought back not only Buddhist teachings but also the temple’s tea‑making techniques, tea utensils, and ceremonial system, which became the foundation of Japanese matcha and the Japanese tea ceremony.

The most vivid expression of this heritage is the Jingshan Tea Banquet (径山茶宴), praised as “the greatest tea banquet under heaven.” Originating in the Song dynasty, it was a grand ritual used to receive eminent monks, envoys and scholars. Through chanting, bell tones, and the formal preparation and serving of tea, monks transformed tea drinking into a spiritual performance. This ceremonial system was later transmitted to Japan almost intact, evolving into “Zen temple hospitality,” “tea etiquette (茶礼),” and ultimately the Japanese tea ceremony Cha-no-yu (茶の湯). In this sense, the world’s matcha culture can be traced directly back to the Zen tea and tea banquet traditions of Jingshan Temple.

Today, Jingshan Temple continues to preserve and revive the ancient tea banquet, allowing visitors to experience the elegance of Song‑dynasty Zen tea. Indeed, Jingshan tea is the distilled essence of a thousand years of Zen practice on Jingshan Mountain. What makes Jingshan tea distinctive is not only its bright, clean flavor, but the philosophy embedded in its preparation. Cultivated at the higher elevations of the 1,000m mountain range, it is called Jingshan Zen tea. For the same tea cultivated at the lower elevations, the "zen" word is dropped and it is simply called Jingshan tea. This tea is picked with the standard of 1 bud 1 leaf. The slender dry leaves are dark green, with fine hairs and white tips. This tea is also steamed to Kill Green (杀青), followed by air drying.

We are brewing this tea in our Parchmen Glass Gaiwan, at 3g to 120 ml of 80°C water, for 30 sec. The first impression is a soft sweetness. Because the leaves are steamed rather than pan‑fired, the aroma leans toward fresh grass, young bamboo, and morning mist, with a clarity similar to early‑spring matcha yet gentler and less forceful. On the palate, the tea is smooth and round. There is no bitterness; instead, a subtle umami emerges. As the tea cools, its character becomes more layered: a faint nuttiness, a whisper of orchid, and a cooling sensation that spreads slowly across the tongue. This tea can be brewed a second time.


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