Xihu Longjing 西湖龙井 - Original cultivar, Pre-Qingming
The original Longjing cultivar Quntizhong 群体种, whose roots go back to Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911). Emperor Qianlong (1735 - 1796) was particularly fond of this tea, so as to preserve 18 plants of Longjing in his garden for his exclusive use.
This tea, made of only the delicate unripe buds and the first apical leaves - what the Chinese call yi ya yi er ye 一芽一二叶, literally one bud with one or two leaves - is a higher prized level, fit for an emperor. They were plucked in the Pre-Qingming period, Mingqian 明前 in Chinese, that is before the 4th or 5th of April, making it the most precious harvest.
Our selection comes from the production of Master Shu, who was born in Anhui province and moved to Xihu as a young apprentice, where he matured 20 years of experience in tea manufacture. The liquor of this tea has a delicate green shade that shines of golden hues, disclosing the most creamy and mellow taste, rare and precious. Sweet fruity notes open in the palate, leaving in the mouth the typical fresh and delicate vegetal taste and a long-lasting hint of chestnuts that comes from the pan-frying shaqing, and characterizes this ancient tea.
Origin: Meijiawu village, Xihu (West Lake) district, Hangzhou city, Zhejiang Province
Altitude: 800 m asl
Flush: March 25th 2024, Pre-Qingming 明前
Producer: Master Shu
Format: 25 gr. (0.88 oz) loose leaves
Storage: the leaves can be stored in their original package or in ceramic vases. Avoid heat, light, and moisture.
Infusion Parameters
Eastern Brewing
Quantity: 1 gr. of tea every 30 ml of water
Brewing time: Begin with a 30-second brew. Increase with each successive brew as needed.
Water temperature: 75-80°C
Number of brews: 4-5
Western Brewing
Quantity: 1 gr. of tea every 100 ml of water
Brewing time: 2:30 minutes
Water temperature: 75-80°C
Cold Brew
Quantity: 1 gr. of tea every 100 ml of water
Brewing: put the tea leaves in room temperature water and steep for 6-7 hours. Filter the liquor and drink within 24 hours.
Selected farmers
The years of commitment to our land, taking care of the trees and trying to achieve to best quality through the leaf-processing, continuously learning season after season, allowed us to build valuable relationships with other tea-producers all over China that we are glad to support and share with you.
Our constantly updated offer includes all tea categories: white, green, yellow, red, dark (fermented heicha), and wulong.
Follow us on our social media channels, and travel with us to China to meet all our fellow producers!
Shipping
For all European countries and America we ship through our distributor located in Italy, Europe, while for Asia, Oceania and African countries we use our logistic center located in China (link).
For European countries there is no custom-clearance procedure; for all the other shipments we accompany the package with all the necessary papers to ensure the fastest process possible.
 |
 |
 |
Europe
North America
Asia and Oceania
Check our new Asia website: www.easternleaves.asia
Other countries
Within the European Union the shipping time is between 1-5 days, while for Extra-UE shipment the delivery time varies between 5 and 12 days. Orders are shipped on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday: for special requests, please add a note to your order, we will endeavor to fulfill them.
In Italy we ship through BRT. In Europe and US we ship through DHL Express courier or UPS; For shipments in Italy, you can select a BRT point where to collect your package, for shipments Europe you can choose a UPS point, and for the US you can choose a DHL service point. In Asia we use EMS.
Eastern Leaves’s Guarantee
We guarantee the product will arrive securely as well as beautifully packed. While very rare, breakage in shipping can happen. In the unlikely event of breakage please contact us and we will replace the defected item with no additional charge. Please email info@easternleaves.com to arrange for a replacement or return.
