longjing

To prepare a good cup of tie guan yin tea, you need fine tea, good water, proper temperature and suitable tea sets. Each of these four elements is indispensable. There are three stages when water is boiling. At the first stage, the bubbles look like crab eyes; at the second, the bubbles look like fish eyes; finally, they look like surging waves. The water boiling between the crab-eye stage and the fish-eye stage is the best for preparing tea. We should use big fire to make water boil quickly.

And we better use a glass with thick bottom, boiled water at about 85 centidegree, the proportion of tea leaves and water should be 1 gram to 50ml. Because Longjing tea is famous for its green color, delicate aroma, mellow taste and beautiful shape. The apperance of Longjing tea is characterized by smoothness, flatness, straightness and its jade-green color. When we make tea in glass, we can appreciate the beautiful dancing of the tender tea leaves and buds. If the water for making tea is too hot, tea leaves will be spoiled and tea soup will turn to dark yellow very quickly. If the water is not hot enough, tea will be not easy to infuse and the leaves will float on the surface of the water. When you drink Longjing tea, it’s better to enjoy the aroma first, then appreciate the soup color and the moving of tea leaves in the glass and finally taste the soup. Usually, Longjing tea and other kinds of tender green tea can be drawn for only two or three times.

But if you are travelling in Hangzhou, you must try a cup of West Lake dragon well tea made of Hupao Spring water. Hupao (Running Tiger) Spring is the No.3 spring in China, located in Huichan Temple at the foot of Daci Hill which stretches between the West Lake and Qiantang River. The spring is formed by underground water seeping through veins and cracks with quartz sandstone. According to measurement, the rate of flow reaches 43.2 to 86.4 cubic meters per day. And it is famous for the abundant mineral in the water that it can keep 4-5 coins on the surface because of the strong surface tension. Hupao water is the perfect water to make a cup of Longjing tea, which makes Hupao water with Longjing tea a matchless drink, and a city treasure.