Laura Griffin Designs

When we walked into the tea farm doors, we were greeted by this larger than life Chinese teapot…

To our left was a spokeswoman for the farm. She was standing next to a worker who was hand-drying tea leaves in a large metal bowl. We soon learned that this man had been drying tea for over 50 years! His fingers were numb to the heat of the metal as he tossed the leaves around & around, constantly keeping them in motion so they would not burn. Occasionally, he would reach towards the white stick of oil and melt a small bit into the bowl, all the while, continuing to move. The muscles & veins in his arms were amazing.

Next, we were ushered into a small room where our guide taught us more about why the Longjing (Dragon Well) green tea here is considered the top in the country (and some say, the world).

Reputed to be the “Empress of Green Tea,” Longjing tea is primarily planted in the town of Longjing (a mountainous area of Hangzhou, southwest of West Lake). Endowed with lingering clouds and mists as well as abundant rain and dew, Longjing offers favorable conditions for growing tea, and the tea there has a history of more than 1,200 years.

Longjing (Dragon Well) tea is most famous for its unique fragrance and flavor and its flat, slender tea leaves which are picked very young. It can be brewed multiple times and keep its flavor. In addition, the tea is said to have incredible health benefits regardless of your age. It is used to deter food poisoning, refresh the body, stop cavities, fight viruses, control high blood pressure, lower the blood sugar level, lose weight, and prevent cancer. You could say it is somewhat of a “wonder drug”. Hence, Longjing tea is regarded as the elixir for health and is widely sold and accepted all over the world.

So why is there a “dragon well” name attached to it? It is said that residents of Longjing in ancient times believed that a dragon dwelled there and controlled the rainfall. As a result, people went there from all the surrounding areas whenever there was a drought to pray for rainfall, from as early as the Three Kingdoms Period (221-280).

Ok – enough with the history lesson. Sitting in front of each of us was a small glass containing a handful of fresh bright green tea leaves. An attendant came in and began filling each glass with hot water in 3 sweeping motions. It was amazing how far she’d get from the glass without spilling a bit of water! (Side note: it is important that green tea never be made with boiling water…it should be hot but never boiling as that removes the nutrients from the leaves.)

When they were full, here’s what the glasses looked like up close…

Now I have to say, I’m used to the kind of tea that doesn’t have floating bits in it! It was kind of strange drinking tea this way, but we learned that the Chinese not only drink the water that the tea leaves sit in, they also eat the leaves! Apparently, that just adds to the health benefits of the tea. Due to the bitter taste, it is difficult to eat many of them…but I did try a few. Since the tea leaves continue to brew in the glass – our glasses were refilled several times, and the flavor remained.

At the end of the presentation, the spokeswoman brought out a new product that the tea farm has begun selling. Art teas. And yes, they are just as cool as they sound! These teas are packaged in a decorative form along with various beautiful edible flowers. The result is that you can fill a see-through glass pot with hot water, add an art tea to it, and watch it grow into a beautiful centerpiece for your table. Just add water…and you can continue to drink tea for hours. Kinda cool! Here’s an example of what one looks like in a goblet.

After visiting the tea farm store, we took our goodies back to the bus & headed towards our next destination, lunch, which was followed by Lingyin temple (my favorite temple yet!)