2026 Pre-qingming Lion's Peak Dragon Well 明前西湖狮峰龙井

Long Jing green tea, translated into English as Dragon Well, is perhaps the most famous tea within and outside China. Ancient records showed that a monk named Bian Cai (辩才) planted a tea seedling at Lion's Peak Mountain (狮峰山) near Dragon Well Temple (龙井寺) during the Tang dynasty. The terroir gave birth to a tea of exceptional quality and it was replanted in many temples in the vicinity - it was recorded in Lu Yu’s Classic of Tea (陆羽《茶经》) that neighbouring temples Ling Yin Temple (灵隐寺) and Tian Zhu Temple (天竺寺) produced tea. The tea took the name of a famous well in the area - Dragon Well (龙井) - which connects to the Palace of the Dragon in a legend. Where the well was located, the Dragon Well Temple has been burned down and destroyed repeatedly in the past dynasties, with the final rebuild in 2005 based on old architectural plans and records.

During the subsequent Song dynasty, these teas were listed as royal tribute teas. Drawn to the fame and fantasy associated to this tea, Qianlong (乾隆) emperor of the subsequent Qing dynasty built a palace in Hangzhou (杭州) where the tea is. When he arrived in Hangzhou for the first time in 1751 at the end of a journey lasting as long as four months, he was already 40, and it heralded the start of a relationship with the city that would play an important role in the second half of his life. In fact over the next 33 years he would undertake the 1,500 km journey from Beijing six times. Given the logistics and physical rigors of such a journey - he was 73 when he made the last one - it is clear that Hangzhou held a special place for Qianlong, the longest-living - and reigning - emperor of Qing (1644-1911), China's last feudal dynasty. The trips he made in those 36 years are known today as the "journeys to Jiangnan"  (下江南). The term Jiangnan (江南) means south of the Yangtze River (扬子江) and refers to large tracts of land covering what are now Zhejiang (浙江) and Jiangsu (江苏) provinces. Jiangnan was long China's hothouse, culturally and commercially, with its talented people filling the cabinet and taxes filling the royal coffer.

Hangzhou (also known as Lin'an (临安) when it served as the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty (南宋) between 1129 and 1279), with its superb natural scenery and strong literary tradition, was the best place that Jiangnan had to offer. On his every journey to the south, Emperor Qianlong stopped in Hangzhou. For five times, Hangzhou was the southernmost spot he reached before embarking on the return trip.

During his first trip, he saw tea-picking ladies doing their routine in the tea fields one morning during springtime. Legends says he began picking teas when an eunuch came hurriedly with the news that the Empress Dowager had a severe headache. The tea leaves forgotten and ending up in the pocket of his robes, he headed to the Empress Dowager's palace, where their conversation quickly turned towards the curious light tea fragrance that had filled the room and relieving her headache. Pleasing the lady with the highest rank in the royal clan, the emperor ordered to elevate the tea to the status of royal tribute tea, and the tea garden he was at ringfenced for his own use. This is now the tourist attraction site of 18 tea shrubs (十八棵) at Longjing Village. 

Nested in the cradle of Chinese literary brilliance and culture, there were many more stories about the tea and the area that “Long Jing Records” (龙井见闻录) was compiled. Of course, this tea is famous because it is well made and delicious. Ming dynasty records mentioned about the tea’s “flag and spear” (旗枪) shape. Another late Ming dynasty record mentioned the distinctive soy bean flavour from tea in “Old Long Jing” area which is the area where Emperor Qianlong ringfenced the 18 shrubs. Indeed, the area has a long history and already a tourist site since ancient times. The West Lake (西湖) immediately to the northeast of the tea production area is praised for its scenic beauty. Surely, this was one of the most beautiful places in China when Hangzhou and Suzhou (capital of Jiangsu province) were compared metaphorically to legendary beauty Xi Shi (西施) by Song dynasty poet Su Shi ("欲把西湖比西子", 苏轼). It is said that Dragon Well is best brewed using water from nearby Hu Pao Spring (虎跑泉). Some research show that Hu Pao Spring has water with low Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) and 30 micronutrients.

Today, there are three production areas for Dragon Well - West Lake, Qian Tang (钱塘) and Yue Zhou (越州). Within the key West Lake area, there are 5 core areas, namely Lion's Peak (狮峰), Longjing Village (龙井村), Yun Qi (云栖), Hu Pao (虎跑), Mei Jia Wu (梅家坞), of which the prime of the prime is Lion's Peak Dragon Well. Our Dragon Well tea is from Feng Xian Tea Farm (凤仙茶庄), located within the Lion's Peak production area. Watched over by the founder - Mdm Feng Xian, and helped by the daughter, the tea factory is their ancestral house at the same address, as is common for the tea families in the area. Every family has a plot of tea farm and process their own teas at home. Mdm Feng Xian is a recognisable figure, the photo of her in the tea field is used by the local government to promote West Lake Dragon Well, figuring her in government areas and train stations. Her tea fields are located a short walk from her home, along the slopes of Lion's Peak, at around 400m elevation. The tea was harvested 30th March 2026 before Qingming.

We are brewing this tea in our Parchmen Glass Gaiwan. First enjoy the neat flat shapes of the tea leaves, which is slightly yellowish. It is light and floral, with sweet and overwhelming notes of soy bean and cream. It has little bitterness and minimal astringency. Although it can be brewed numerous times - we tried rebrewing it over 10 times - the best flavours are within the first three brews.

Thank you for coming onboard Parchmen & Co and travel with us to savour our world in a cup!