Hangzhou is a stunning part of Zhejiang in China. It’s famous West lake is a picture postcard. Walking along the edge of the lake, you will find people doing Tai Chi, meditating or playing Mah Jong.
Long Jing (or Lung Ching) is one of the 10 most famous teas of China and is mainly grown in and around Hangzhou.
I was lucky to visit the Long Jing well where a plaque states that “Natural spring water flows everlastingly from the head of the legendary dragon. It is said that when the water is stirred, the level of the water increases due to the minerality of the water.
Long Jing green tea has sweet, nutty characteristics and you will see many Chinese along the road with jars or glasses with lids filled with Long Jing which they continually top up with water through out the day.
In Hangzhou city you can find lovely tea houses where you can sit and enjoy good tea while watching the hustle and bustle on the street below. The one I went to had the waiters showing tea by performing fancy pouring techniques from teapots with long spouts.
Another tea from the Zhejiang province is Gun Powder Green tea. Below is an example of the machinery which shapes the tea into small pellet like balls which give the tea its name.
I find gunpowder green tea to have a taste that reminds me of oil, like the tea has already been shot out of a gun that has just been cleaned! This is not meant to deter you from trying it as you may well find it tastes nothing how I have described it.
The tighter, smaller and shiney the tea, the higher quality.
Gunpowder green tea is the most common tea blended with spearmint (or peppermint for a sweeter taste) to create Moroccan mint tea.
Hangzhou is definitely one city I will be visiting again.