West Lake Longjing Green Tea (西湖龙井茶)
Lunch @ Lou Wai Lou Restaurant (杭州楼外楼 - 孤山路店) [louwailou.com.cn/] - one of the top restaurants in Hangzhou.
Hangzhou is famous for Longjing Tea (literally translated as "Dragon's Well Tea"). It is one of the most prized of Chinese green tea. Quality tea leaves could fetch expensive prices.
Around the West Lake, one can actually find plenty of farms growing tea leaves. These farms have collectively been voted as one of the new Top 10 modern 'must-see' around the Lake - in a new scenic sight called '龙井问茶'.
Longjing Tea has a very unique taste. It has this characteristic 'fishy' aroma, that folks associate with seaweed or even black fish. It has a very meaty and sulphurous umami taste, that finishes off on your tongue in different characters with each brew. Longjing tea is good for up to 5-6 brews and each brew fades and morphs into different tones, as it ages from robust greenness to mature fruitiness. The initial brews will always deliver a slightly bitter finish but the aftertaste slowly becomes sweeter with later brews and eventually one is left with a warm and sweet aftertaste on the tongue. The Chinese called this 'sensation' - 回甘 - "sweetness after bitterness' - and this can be explained scientifically via the chemistry associated with the natural polyphenols existing in green tea leaves.
Drinking and enjoying Longjing Tea takes and need time. Patience is key. This is not your standard American Starbucks experience - one gulp and that's it.
West Lake Longjing Green Tea (西湖龙井茶)
Lunch @ Lou Wai Lou Restaurant (杭州楼外楼 - 孤山路店) [louwailou.com.cn/] - one of the top restaurants in Hangzhou.
Hangzhou is famous for Longjing Tea (literally translated as "Dragon's Well Tea"). It is one of the most prized of Chinese green tea. Quality tea leaves could fetch expensive prices.
Around the West Lake, one can actually find plenty of farms growing tea leaves. These farms have collectively been voted as one of the new Top 10 modern 'must-see' around the Lake - in a new scenic sight called '龙井问茶'.
Longjing Tea has a very unique taste. It has this characteristic 'fishy' aroma, that folks associate with seaweed or even black fish. It has a very meaty and sulphurous umami taste, that finishes off on your tongue in different characters with each brew. Longjing tea is good for up to 5-6 brews and each brew fades and morphs into different tones, as it ages from robust greenness to mature fruitiness. The initial brews will always deliver a slightly bitter finish but the aftertaste slowly becomes sweeter with later brews and eventually one is left with a warm and sweet aftertaste on the tongue. The Chinese called this 'sensation' - 回甘 - "sweetness after bitterness' - and this can be explained scientifically via the chemistry associated with the natural polyphenols existing in green tea leaves.
Drinking and enjoying Longjing Tea takes and need time. Patience is key. This is not your standard American Starbucks experience - one gulp and that's it.