I recently went to Hangzhou, in the West Lake Longjing main production area for several days, from the primary production area to the secondary production area, have gone all over. During this period, I learned a lot, but also a profound understanding of the depths of the market is difficult to measure, really test the swimming skills.
First, the West Lake Longjing you buy may be produced from Guizhou
Even in the main production area of West Lake Longjing, we see a wide range of Longjing tea, there are many that are not of origin. Industry insiders told Uncle B, in the primary production area, you can buy secondary production area of Longjing is lucky, many are Yuezhou Longjing or Qiantang Longjing, and even more are outside the province of Longjing, such as Guizhou Longjing.
Speaking of Guizhou Longjing, we have to talk about Guizhou tea. Guizhou is a large tea-producing province, but it seems that a lot of tea is used to the famous tea as a “stand-in”, in addition to Guizhou Longjing, there are Guizhou Biluochun, Guizhou Mao Feng, etc., it is said that there are Guizhou white tea, Guizhou Tieguanyin. Want to buy the origin of the famous tea tea lovers, often have to beware of Guizhou tea fish eyes mixed pearls.
See here, the people of Guizhou said very aggrieved. Because the natural environment of Guizhou is unique, the tea here is not bad at all, Duyun Maojian, Meitan Cuiya, etc. are tea in the treasures. Unfortunately, due to geographical and historical reasons, Guizhou tea has long been little known to the outside world, the fame is not big. Until today, Guizhou tea can only give the famous tea as a “stand-in”, in order to sell a relatively good price.
If Master Qianlong went out to travel back then, not to the affluent Jiangnan, but to the remote Guizhou countryside tour, maybe today Guizhou will also have a famous tea like the West Lake Longjing Oh!
Of course, there are also external factors: the well-known tea in other tea regions to expand production, but encountered limitations, such as industrial encroachment on land, labor costs increased. As a result, many well-known tea companies have gone to Guizhou to purchase raw materials of tea green. This phenomenon is similar to Chinese companies doing OEM processing for foreign companies.
Let’s talk about West Lake Longjing.
Second, the origin of West Lake Longjing
In order to drink Longjing, we must first know its origin.
West Lake Longjing to now has a history of more than 1200 years, the Tang Dynasty tea sage Lu Yu’s book “Tea Book” has a record on the two temples of Lingyin, Hangzhou Tianzhu tea production, from the Song Dynasty, the tea was named Longjing, but only until the Qing Dynasty West Lake Longjing is considered famous.
In this more than a thousand years of the past, West Lake Longjing tea from obscurity to fame, from the ordinary people leisure ration tea to the kings and princes received tribute, from a single domestic famous tea has become a global good, West Lake Longjing has had its own era.
In the Northern Song Dynasty, the West Lake Longjing production area has been small-scale, the Song Dynasty poet Su Dongpo has written a praise of the West Lake Longjing good line “two new flags under the white cloud peak, greasy green long fresh valley rain spring”, also had a plaque inscribed “old Longjing”, and still preserved in the Longjing tea The plaque is still preserved on a hanging rock under the Lion Peak Mountain in Longjing tea area.
By the Ming Dynasty, West Lake Longjing tea gradually made a name for itself and became a daily drink in the homes of ordinary people. The ancient book “Qiantang County” during the Wanli period had a strong praise of Longjing. At this time, the West Lake Longjing tea has become a famous tea in China. In the Ming Dynasty books about tea, “Famous Tea Book” and “National Famous Tea”, West Lake Longjing tea is listed among them.
And to the Qing Dynasty, there is the story, Qianlong repeatedly came to Jiangnan West Lake Longjing tea area to personally observe the plucking and production of Longjing, tasting tea for poetry, wrote the famous “view picking tea for song”. According to the ranking of the rank, West Lake Longjing tea is the best.
So, here comes the question.
Third, in the end what is the authentic West Lake Longjing?
Longjing tea mainly from the core production area of Hangzhou West Lake, historically there are 5 names, respectively, 5 first-class core production areas: lion dragon cloud tiger plum. Among these 5 origins, many people believe that the best quality of Longjing in Lion Peak.
The origin of the name of modern West Lake Longjing tea is derived from the 1950s. But the new China has just been established, the tea to take the unified purchase and sale model, Longjing tea 5 font size merged into the lion, dragon, plum 3, and will be collectively referred to as “West Lake Longjing” tea.
At present, the West Lake Longjing tea production area, divided into a total of primary protection zone and secondary protection zone, the overall area of 168 square kilometers. The primary protection zone is the core production area of West Lake Longjing tea, which is the aforementioned five production areas of Shifeng Mountain, Longjing, Yunqi, Hu Run and Meijiawu. The secondary production area is the West Lake district in addition to the primary core urban area.
West Lake Longjing belongs to the fried green tea, firstly known as the local group species, and later through the efforts of tea experts, the excellent plug cuttings were selected from the local group species and cultivated, successfully breeding the asexual national excellent variety Longjing 43. Compared to the group in the group, Longjing 43 germination time earlier, higher yield, stronger disease resistance, currently planted on a larger scale.
Now the West Lake Longjing tea, the earliest listed are Longjing 43. Of course there are some counterfeit to wu niu early or other provincial tea made imitation tea, the real local core origin group species will have to wait a while.
Fourth, why 99% of people can not buy authentic West Lake Longjing?
The reason for this situation is that all green tea processed in accordance with the production process of Longjing is currently sold in the market as West Lake Longjing. Produced in Hangzhou West Lake scenic area around the authentic West Lake Longjing, we will not say. Currently in Zhejiang Tonglu, Chunan, Xinchang, Shaoxing and most other areas, are producing Longjing tea. For example, the well-known Xinchang Dafo Longjing, Shengzhou’s Yuexiang Longjing, and so on. The production of these teas, accounting for 90% of the production of Longjing tea in Zhejiang, but when sold to the public, mostly under the name of West Lake Longjing.
Of course, this is not counted, more is the foreign tea as Longjing tea to sell. Eight uncle mentioned earlier, as early as early February, the circle of friends on the West Lake Longjing new tea. In fact, at that time, the West Lake Longjing pressed not yet open garden picking, where to the new tea. Even in the entire Zhejiang production area, have not yet started picking. These so-called “West Lake Longjing” new tea, are foreign early spring tea, imitating the Longjing process made. In these teas, both the introduction of Longjing 43 and Wu Niu early varieties from Zhejiang, but also the original local tea varieties.
Although the appearance can be imitated almost, but the taste and aroma can not be fully imitated, the quality is very different. An organization has done a blind survey, take the foreign imitation Longjing and the core origin of the West Lake Longjing to experts to assess the difference, the results are a big surprise, experts believe that the provincial imitation tea is better, and the authentic West Lake Longjing as a counterfeit product.
So, even the experts can not distinguish, the average consumer which can recognize, what is true, what is false. Eight uncle had done a small-scale survey, most tea lovers can not distinguish the real West Lake Longjing, do not know which is the group species, which is Longjing 43, which is Wu Niu early. In most people’s view, all the tea looks the same, at first glance is indeed indistinguishable.
Perhaps some senior tea lovers have heard that a good West Lake Longjing has a brown rice color, which can be used as a criterion for judging. But now this point is also used by unscrupulous traders. Counterfeiters through high temperature fai pot, extended fai pot time and other methods, artificially create a unique brown rice color, so as to achieve the purpose of the second best, to fake the real. After all, as long as the ride on the West Lake Longjing, the price immediately doubled several times. Huge benefits, so many people tend to rush.
Five, how to choose the real West Lake Longjing?
The shape is flat, smooth, sharp, tender green and fresh; the aroma is clear and persistent; the taste is fresh and mellow and sweet; the leaf base is tender and green and bright.
From the appearance, West Lake Longjing is yellow-green, hand-fried and a little darker than machine-fried. If you look at the tenderness, West Lake Longjing is picked from one bud and one leaf to one bud and two leaves at the beginning of development, the form is rich and full is the best. On the palate, a good West Lake Longjing has a distinctly tender bean flower fragrance and orchid fragrance, with a tender green soup color and a mellow, sweet taste after brewing.
However, a good meal is not afraid of late, good tea is not afraid of annoyance. To drink authentic West Lake Longjing, you still have to be quiet, wait patiently, select carefully, drink more and compare more and try. Do you think so? Tea lovers, whether you love to drink West Lake Longjing, what is the view of West Lake Longjing, welcome to find me together to exchange.
