Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Arbor Teas
Tea Description:
Dragon Well (Lung Ching) is perhaps the most famous green tea from China, named after the Dragon’s Well landmark in the West Lake area of the Zhejiang, where the tea was first made. Dragon Well tea (“Lung Ching” in Chinese) is known for its unique shape and remarkable flavor. During pan firing, the leaves are folded in on themselves, forming the characteristic sword-like shape. The rose-tinted gold infusion of this organic, Fair Trade Certified tea is smooth and light bodied. The well-balanced flavor profile of the liquor suggests freshly cut grass and toasted chestnuts, with a somewhat floral fragrance.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
A delightful Dragonwell tea.
It has such a smooth character to it, smooth from beginning to finish, with very little astringency to speak of. It tastes light and crisp, like the fresh, spring air just after the lawn’s been mowed.
I like that this tea is grassy, but it isn’t a bitter or sharp grassy taste. It has a delicate taste and lighter in body than some Dragonwell teas I’ve tasted. But while it is what I’d call a light-bodied tea, it doesn’t sacrifice flavor. It is a refreshing cup.
As I continue to sip, the toasted chestnut flavor as suggested in the above description begins to emerge. It isn’t a strong flavor, but it seems to come alive just at the right time. Just as the palate seems to get used to the vegetal notes of this tea, and maybe even getting a little bored with it, the sweet, roasted nutty flavor arrives to perk things up.
This is a great tea to enjoy in the afternoon when you want a little pick-me-up, and it makes a really delicious iced tea too (try it iced with thin slices of lemon … YUM!) and, I love drinking Dragonwell tea with dinner, because it has a light, enjoyable taste that compliments whatever I might be eating.
An enjoyable Dragonwell, and I appreciate that it is a fair trade, organic tea. It is my opinion that no tea cupboard is complete without at least one Dragonwell tea because it is so refreshing and versatile. Dragonwell is a MUST HAVE tea cupboard staple!
Eight Oasis Blend from Praise Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green, White & Pu-erh Teas
Where to Buy: Praise Tea
Tea Description:
Our combination of Sencha, Gunpowder, Mini Tuo, Chun Mee, Pai Mu Tan, Lung Ching, Snow Bud, Pi Lo Chun, candied pineapple and strawberry takes you to an oasis of delight. Delectable both hot and cold. Try some with white crystal sugar. Indulge your taste buds.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
After a quick glance at this tea’s ingredient list, I thought that this tea may just have a little too much going on. It smelled intriguing, though, with its delicious notes of strawberry and pineapple, so I decided to give it a try.
And somehow, this massive list of ingredients works together very well! While it is next to impossible to pick out each individual tea’s characteristics, I can taste the fresh, vegetative flavor of green tea, a light earthy quality from the tuocha, and I can even taste notes that are very much like white tea – notes of hay and that crisp, airy quality that is often noted in white tea.
The strawberry and pineapple notes are less distinctive than the flavors of the tea, but, that’s alright. In fact, I find it to be quite refreshing to have the tea as the center focus in this cup, and have the fruit flavors to serve as accent notes to enliven the overall flavor. The place where the fruit really stands out is in the aftertaste, where I can taste the flavors of both the pineapple and the strawberry.
This tea does have a natural sweetness to it, so I would recommend tasting before you sweeten. I did end up adding just a pinch of sugar which helped to enhance the fruit notes more than sweeten the cup. Without the sugar, the fruit notes fall a little flat … they’re still present, but, just not as lively as with a pinch of sugar.
This one makes a nice iced tea too. I recommend steeping it at least twice, as it is even tastier with the second infusion.
Dragonwell from Adagio Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
Product Description:
One of China’s most famous green teas, Dragonwell (Lung Ching or Longjing in local parlance) comes from Hangzhou in Zhejiang province. This tea has a very distinctive shape: smooth and perfectly flattened along the inside vein of the leaf, the result of highly skilled shaping in a hot wok. This process, known as pan-firing or pan-frying, was perfected in China by tea masters over many centuries. It gives the tea an inviting, toasty aroma. Our Dragonwell also has a sweet, rounded flavor, perhaps reminiscent of freshly roasted white corn. Full, nutty and buttery texture and pleasantly dry finish. A truly satisfying cup of tea.
Taster’s Review:
There was a time when I would shy away from Dragonwell tea, but I’ve come to not only appreciate it, but actually really enjoy it.
This is a very fine Dragonwell. It has a light, crisp flavor. I find myself agreeing with the above description completely: notes of roasted corn, sweet, nutty, buttery, toasty. All of those describe this tea well.
There is a faint grassy taste in the distance. A sweetness in the foreground throughout. The buttery flavor is not a thick buttery essence, but rather, it is like a touch of butter on the fresh roasted corn. There is very little astringency that seems to be noticeable only when I’m actually trying to search for it. The finish is crisp and dry, and the aftertaste is lightly sweet.
This tea is available in loose leaf form, as well as part of the Artisan Comfort Gourmet Tea Collection which features a select variety of teas in pyramid sachets. Perfect for travel or on-the-go! (PS: The holidays are approaching and one of these Gourmet Tea Collections would make a great gift for the tea lover on your shopping list!)
Dragon Well Green Tea (Lung Ching) from Enjoying Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Enjoying Tea
Product Description:
This extraordinary green tea comes from the city of Hangzhou in Zhejiang province. The flat leaves are harvested in early spring when the leaves are full of aroma and have a silvery shine. Dragon Well is prepared using traditional methods from the most tender tea leaves. These leaves produce a soothing and refreshing champagne colored liquid full of freshness. Semi-sweet in taste and orchid-like in smell, Lung Ching is one of the most famous green tea in China.
Taster’s Review:
This is a very pleasant tea to sip after a long, hard day! I can feel it invigorate my senses and energize me, while restoring a sense of calm to my spirit. All that from a cup of tea!
But my experiences with Dragon Well teas have not always been so positive. There was a time when I thought I didn’t like Dragon Well. But over time, I have grown quite fond of them. I don’t know if this change has something to do with my palate developing a taste for the vegetative green teas or if it has something to do with the fact that my brewing techniques have improved tremendously over the years, but I’m inclined to believe that it’s a combination of these two factors.
Yes, Dragon Well is quite grassy in taste – heck, the dry leaf even looks like carefully dried blades of cut grass! – but there is so much more to this cup than just a grassy character. It has so many layers of flavors that are just waiting to be discovered. This tea is sweet and slightly floral with a nutty quality lingering in the background.
It is delicious to sip – neat and clean – as a hot beverage and quite thirst-quenching when served over ice. When it is chilled I like it with a little bit of honey added to help pump up the flavor a little bit.
This Dragon Well is another example of why I really like Enjoying Tea. They have such a wide selection of teas, there is something for everyone, as well as a vast array of tea accessories. I highly recommend their sampler sets – they’re awesome!