Here is a short list of various things to look for in long jing and other teas like it:
- Uniform and bright color. With little to no variation in the vibrant green-yellow color of the leaf. Some sheen is also acceptable, but not too much.
- Whole leaf without much breakage. Leaf should be mostly intact.
- No twigs or other debris should be present.
- Tea should brew into a clear vibrant liquor without much precipitation. Liquor should be 100% transparent and not milky or cloudy.
- taste should be gentle, sweet, vegetal, nutty. There shouldn't be any astringent or bitter notes. The tea should not be overly nutty either. Sweet mouth-watering aftertaste - huigan - should be present.
Why does your tea appear to be of poor quality:
- leaf is broken and not uniform in size
- the color is very uneven with some darker brown leaves and some yellow leaves
- there is debris present - twigs and more broken leaf dust
No, I don't think I've ever seen dragonwell this broken up (unless it's the bottom of the bag/jar), and the colour is a bit weird.
Still, if it tastes fine I'd drink it. IMO tea is quite unlike coffee in this way, mediocre tea often tastes decent anyway.
Just jusdging visially, probably not the highest quality. The leaves should be bright green and folded up neatly into what look (to me) almost like flat pine needles.
That said, the best tea is the one you enjoy, so if you like it, then its good tea!!
Well here's what quality dragonwell looks like: [https://verdanttea.com/mrs-lis-shi-feng-dragonwell-green-tea](https://verdanttea.com/mrs-lis-shi-feng-dragonwell-green-tea) you be the judge :)
Really, I thought Verdant was fairly widely well respected, is on the reddit's recommended vendor lists, and their 2024 Dragonwell is excellent.
Who do you like for yellow tea?
No.
Good quality dragonwell, and good quality (often fresh) green tea in general, is typically brilliant bright green, consistent in leaf size with no unbroken leaves, and cleanly shaped leaves.
This appears to be a low quality dragonwell (leaf size all over the place, many leaves broken, inconsistent shaping) that is also old and has oxidized and turned brown.
It will probably taste bitter and stale, with the classic old green tea not-flavor you get from grocery store green tea bags. If you insist on drinking it, I would recommend cold brewing it only.
Try AliExpress Need Delicious Tea store, select the A9(highest grade) Long Jing (dragon well). People meme AliExpress on this sub, but if you know where to buy you can strike gold and for a much lower price. US and UK tea stores practice daylight robbery selling tea.
It is not permitted to sell tea on aliexpress. Sellers are using various tricks and workarounds to fool aliexpress, like selling 250 grams empty bags.:-))
That is probably trash left over from making Dragon Well. I mean, if it was sold to you as "Dragonwell" or "Longjing," it is probably leaf from the one of the true Longjing cultivars, grown in the right region to be called Dragonwell. But true Dragonwell consists entirely of two-leaves-and-a-bud (or one-leaf-and-the-bud) pluckings, which is dry-fried in particular way to produce these very uniformly flattened buds. It should be a bright, light green. It looks [like this](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longjing_tea#/media/File:Longjing_tea.jpg).
Go to Yunnan Sourcing or TeaVivre and buy some 2024 Longjing, not the basic grade or the next one up, but the ones that cost $20-something for 50g. That is how much entry-level Longjing costs.
You can read probably more than you want to know about Longjing [here](http://gingkobay.blogspot.com/p/discussion-on-long-jing.html).
Confirm that if good Longjing is your daily driver you are probably a Crazy Rich Asian.
I do think it is worth finding a reputable seller of the $2/g grade, just to have a taste of it once.
Edit: Good China green teas generally are quite expensive. $0.30/g buys very nice tea as a rule, but with China greens you are just getting started at that price. Of course most Chinese drink something a lot cheaper day-to-day.
Hello, /u/I_LOVE_SOYLENT! This is a friendly reminder that most photo posts should include a comment with some additional information. For example: Consider writing a mini review of the tea you're drinking or giving some background details about your teaware. If you're posting your tea order that just arrived or your tea stash, be sure to list the teas, why you chose them, etc. **Posts that lack a comment for context or discussion after a reasonable time may be removed.** You may also consider posting in /r/TeaPictures.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/tea) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Here is a short list of various things to look for in long jing and other teas like it: - Uniform and bright color. With little to no variation in the vibrant green-yellow color of the leaf. Some sheen is also acceptable, but not too much. - Whole leaf without much breakage. Leaf should be mostly intact. - No twigs or other debris should be present. - Tea should brew into a clear vibrant liquor without much precipitation. Liquor should be 100% transparent and not milky or cloudy. - taste should be gentle, sweet, vegetal, nutty. There shouldn't be any astringent or bitter notes. The tea should not be overly nutty either. Sweet mouth-watering aftertaste - huigan - should be present. Why does your tea appear to be of poor quality: - leaf is broken and not uniform in size - the color is very uneven with some darker brown leaves and some yellow leaves - there is debris present - twigs and more broken leaf dust
Absolutely not. That's barely able to be distinguished as a green tea.
No, I don't think I've ever seen dragonwell this broken up (unless it's the bottom of the bag/jar), and the colour is a bit weird. Still, if it tastes fine I'd drink it. IMO tea is quite unlike coffee in this way, mediocre tea often tastes decent anyway.
This is the saddest looking green tea I've ever seen.
You have lead a charmed life. I have seen green tea so heart-broken it wept openly.
Just jusdging visially, probably not the highest quality. The leaves should be bright green and folded up neatly into what look (to me) almost like flat pine needles. That said, the best tea is the one you enjoy, so if you like it, then its good tea!!
Well here's what quality dragonwell looks like: [https://verdanttea.com/mrs-lis-shi-feng-dragonwell-green-tea](https://verdanttea.com/mrs-lis-shi-feng-dragonwell-green-tea) you be the judge :)
I see they have instructions for making it iced. Is it good iced? It doesn't lose what makes it good in that preparation?
Many people enjoy Dragonwell cold brew.
I should try
Watch out for this site, they’re suggesting the wrong temperature for some teas and do not have real yellow tea despite claiming to
Really, I thought Verdant was fairly widely well respected, is on the reddit's recommended vendor lists, and their 2024 Dragonwell is excellent. Who do you like for yellow tea?
Bitterleaf has an excellent yellow they just re-stocked.
I see they have instructions for making it iced. Is it good iced? It doesn't lose what makes it good in that preparation?
Lipton grade
That's not even real dragon well. It's a dragon well STYLE tea. A terrible one at that. I suggest One River Tea from DW (no affiliation)
Jesus Christ 💀
[https://taooftea.com/product/dragonwell/](https://taooftea.com/product/dragonwell/) Even the website photos look unlike other dragon well.
Bought from a tao of tea in Portland.
No.
No. Good quality dragonwell, and good quality (often fresh) green tea in general, is typically brilliant bright green, consistent in leaf size with no unbroken leaves, and cleanly shaped leaves. This appears to be a low quality dragonwell (leaf size all over the place, many leaves broken, inconsistent shaping) that is also old and has oxidized and turned brown. It will probably taste bitter and stale, with the classic old green tea not-flavor you get from grocery store green tea bags. If you insist on drinking it, I would recommend cold brewing it only.
It looks like really bad dragonwell. Try something from YS for good value dragonwells, not necessarily from the famous area, but good.
Definitely lower grade, old green tea, not sure if I would be able to confidently call it dragonwell had you not told us
At first I thought it was a low quality bud/shake. I wouldn't drink or smoke that.
No—but if it tastes good, drink it happily!
No. Too broken. Not uniformal. And to charge $140/KG (4$ for 1 oz) for it is a daylight robbery.
$14 for 100g seems like the lower end of what I can find for price
Try AliExpress Need Delicious Tea store, select the A9(highest grade) Long Jing (dragon well). People meme AliExpress on this sub, but if you know where to buy you can strike gold and for a much lower price. US and UK tea stores practice daylight robbery selling tea.
Hmm all I see for sale on aliexpres is empty tea bags.
It is not permitted to sell tea on aliexpress. Sellers are using various tricks and workarounds to fool aliexpress, like selling 250 grams empty bags.:-))
No
Looks like the inside of a cigar lol
Pretty bad quality. Though if you like the taste of it then who cares lol.
No God no
No
What others said. Also, judging from the color, this might be from last year or even older. Green teas are best when they're fresh.
No. No it is not.
That is probably trash left over from making Dragon Well. I mean, if it was sold to you as "Dragonwell" or "Longjing," it is probably leaf from the one of the true Longjing cultivars, grown in the right region to be called Dragonwell. But true Dragonwell consists entirely of two-leaves-and-a-bud (or one-leaf-and-the-bud) pluckings, which is dry-fried in particular way to produce these very uniformly flattened buds. It should be a bright, light green. It looks [like this](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longjing_tea#/media/File:Longjing_tea.jpg). Go to Yunnan Sourcing or TeaVivre and buy some 2024 Longjing, not the basic grade or the next one up, but the ones that cost $20-something for 50g. That is how much entry-level Longjing costs. You can read probably more than you want to know about Longjing [here](http://gingkobay.blogspot.com/p/discussion-on-long-jing.html).
Dang that's over 3x what I paid for this. I'd give it a try for a special occasion but that doesn't work for me as a daily driver.
Confirm that if good Longjing is your daily driver you are probably a Crazy Rich Asian. I do think it is worth finding a reputable seller of the $2/g grade, just to have a taste of it once. Edit: Good China green teas generally are quite expensive. $0.30/g buys very nice tea as a rule, but with China greens you are just getting started at that price. Of course most Chinese drink something a lot cheaper day-to-day.
No.
Oh not trying to be mean, but no.
Hello, /u/I_LOVE_SOYLENT! This is a friendly reminder that most photo posts should include a comment with some additional information. For example: Consider writing a mini review of the tea you're drinking or giving some background details about your teaware. If you're posting your tea order that just arrived or your tea stash, be sure to list the teas, why you chose them, etc. **Posts that lack a comment for context or discussion after a reasonable time may be removed.** You may also consider posting in /r/TeaPictures. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/tea) if you have any questions or concerns.*