Longjing Tea Tour: Taste Dragon Well Tea Where It's Grown
Walk the terraces, meet the growers, and learn how to buy China's most famous green tea without getting ripped off.
What Makes Longjing Tea Special
Longjing β Dragon Well β is China's most celebrated green tea, grown only in the West Lake hills around Hangzhou. Its flat, spear-shaped leaves are pan-fired by hand, and its flavor is famously sweet and chestnut-like. The most prized batch, called Mingqian, is picked before the Qingming Festival in early April, when the youngest buds are the most delicate and the most expensive.
The Tea Villages
The tea villages of Longjing and Meijiawu sit in the hills just outside the city, their terraces climbing the slopes. A tea tour here isn't a showroom β it's a walk through working fields, past the bushes where the leaves you'll later taste were actually picked, with a grower who can explain the harvest and firing.
Tasting and Picking
The highlight is the tasting: fresh leaves brewed the traditional way, so you can compare a Mingqian first-pick against a later harvest and taste the difference. Depending on the season and the farm, you may also try picking a few leaves under the grower's guidance.
How to Buy Without Getting Ripped Off
Longjing prices vary wildly β from modest everyday grades to thousands of yuan for a small tin of top Mingqian. The trap is buying a low-grade leaf at a premium price in a tourist shop. Jacky's role is to level the field: he translates the grades, asks the grower the questions you can't, and helps you compare before you commit. You're under no obligation to buy anything.
Fitting Tea Into Your Hangzhou Tour
A tea village is part of the 1-day tour and goes deeper on the 2-day tour. If tea is the whole point of your visit, Jacky can shape a longer, tea-focused day β ask on the inquiry form.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Longjing tea grown?
Longjing (Dragon Well) tea is grown on the terraced hills around West Lake and the villages of Longjing and Meijiawu, about 20-30 minutes outside central Hangzhou. The name comes from a well near the village whose water was said to swirl like a dragon.
Can I pick tea leaves myself?
It depends on the season and the farm. During the spring harvest some growers allow visitors to try picking under supervision, but most of the year you'll walk the terraces, watch the processing, and taste the finished tea. Jacky knows which farms welcome visitors.
How do I buy Longjing tea without getting ripped off?
Buy from a farmer or a tea village, not a tourist gift shop, and know what you're buying: the prized Mingqian (pre-Qingming) harvest costs far more than summer-picked leaves, and prices vary enormously by grade. Jacky translates and helps you compare before you pay.
What's the best season for a tea tour?
Spring, roughly late March through April, is when the famous first harvest is picked and the terraces are greenest. Autumn offers crisp weather and the second harvests. The tea villages are walkable year-round, though summer is hot and humid.
Ready to Explore Hangzhou?
Get your free customized itinerary with PDF quote. Delivered in 60 seconds β not 24 hours.