LONG JING, CHINA’S MOST FAMOUS GREEN TEA!
A legend says that in the 5th century, at the end of the Tianmu mountain range, where the village of Long Jing is currently located, the inhabitants found stone in the shape of a dragon while drilling a well. This discovery astonished the mountaineers so much that they gave this well the name of Longlinge well of the Dragon. A few centuries later, the villagers clubbed together to build a temple near the well, the reputation of which attracted many pilgrims.
Cultivated nearby for the needs of the monks, the tea served there was greatly appreciated by visitors, who baptized it with the same name, Long Jing. The first plantations date back to the Tang dynasty (618-907). Lu Y in 786, in the first book devoted to tea, reports its existence and calls it West Lake tea”. Since then, over the centuries, Long Jing has patiently acquired a reputation, becoming the most famous tea in China. O ne of our growers, Mr. Tang, from a line of growers established in Long Jing village for over 300 years, told us about the changing demand during the 20th century: “Before 1949, we produced our tea based on orders from nearby shops. The demand was not very strong. Then, from 1949 to 1979, the village developed a lot. Every family, including mine. received a piece of land of about 5 mu*, It was the communist period. Everything the villagers produced belonged to the state. From 1979, the State withdrew and let the families take care of the production and the sale of their tea according to the laws of the market, But it is only since the end of the 1990s that the demand of Long Jing exploded. The village producers are no longer up to the job. To make the most of my land, I now need some seasonal workers. Six pickers now mostly come from outside the village, and Mr. Min, a desiccation specialist, helps me during the high season.” In Long Jing, it is easy to see how much the reputation of the village and its famous tea attract amateurs. During the summer, thousands of Chinese and foreign tourists visit the steep mountains of the region every day. There are also, in the surroundings of this enchanting village, walking paths, water sources, and you can drink tea with the families who produce it. For about four dollars, you are entitled to a good quantity of leaves which will still be fragrant after several infusions. The popularity of Hangzhou, the nearest city, also favors this tourist boom. Knowing the reputation of this legendary tea, passing amateurs obviously seek to stock up. To meet this ever-increasing demand, artisans seek to produce more ever-increasing demand, artisans seek to produce more tea, but since the forests around Long Jing are now part of a national park, they cannot deforest the mountains to increase the area of plantations. The government even carries out satellite surveillance and imposes exemplary fines on producers who cut down trees. Unfortunately, this situation encourages counterfeiting. Large harvests from Wuniuzao, a city in southern Zhejiang, are sent to Long Ling to be processed and sold as original Long Jing tea. Imitations from other provinces are also numerous. In Sichuan, for example, green tea producers are imitating the Long Jing style and taking advantage of earlier harvests to capture a large share of the market. According to Mr. Tang, one of the main challenges for the Long Jing producer is to keep prices reasonable. Something which, according to him, will be more and more difficult to do. The price of Long Jing, already more expensive than most other teas, continues to rise, and workers’ wages have doubled in recent years.
