---
title: "Lóngjǐng chá"
url: https://thetea.app/article/longjing-cha
lang: en
updated: 2026-10-01
source: THE TEA — encyclopedia of Chinese tea (https://thetea.app)
---
# Lóngjǐng chá (龙井茶)

*Lóngjǐng chá* (龙井茶) is a flat, pan-fired green tea of Zhejiang Province, and a name protected as a geographical indication under national standard GB/T 18650-2008. The zone is divided into three areas — Xihu, Qiantang and Yuezhou — and covers 18 counties, cities and districts in four prefecture-level cities. This article is about the name as a whole; the tea of the Xihu area, the only one entitled to be called “Xihu Longjing”, is described separately.

**1. Classification and Origin:**

* **Type:** Green tea (绿茶, *lǜchá*). The standard defines Longjing as a flat green tea (扁形绿茶, *biǎnxíng lǜchá*) made from the leaf of approved varieties, picked and processed by traditional technology within the protection zone, with the qualities “色绿、香郁、味醇、形美” — green color, rich aroma, mellow taste, beautiful shape.
* **Category:** Flat pan-fired green tea; geographical indication product.
* **Origin:** China, Zhejiang Province (浙江, *Zhèjiāng*): according to the list in the standard — the lands of the prefecture-level cities of Hangzhou and Shaoxing and individual townships and towns of Pan'an and Dongyang counties (Jinhua prefecture) and Tiantai County (Taizhou prefecture).
* **Protection zone:** According to GB/T 18650-2008:
    * **Xihu (西湖产区, *Xīhú chǎnqū*)** — Xihu District of Hangzhou, including the Xihu scenic area.
    * **Qiantang (钱塘产区, *Qiántáng chǎnqū*)** — Xiaoshan, Binjiang, Yuhang, Fuyang, Lin'an, Tonglu, Jiande and Chun'an.
    * **Yuezhou (越州产区, *Yuèzhōu chǎnqū*)** — Shaoxing, Yuecheng, Xinchang, Shengzhou and Zhuji in full, and individual townships and towns of Shangyu, Pan'an, Dongyang and Tiantai. The standard lists “Shaoxing” (the county); in 2019 publications, Keqiao District is named in its place.
* **Discrepancy:** Chinese Wikipedia counts 12 counties in full and parts of four more — not the same as the standard; possibly because of changes in administrative divisions.
* **Geographic coordinates:** Hangzhou — about 30.25° N and 120.15° E.

**2. History and Cultural Significance:**

* **History:**
    * **The name.** The name is connected with the locality of Longjing in Xihu District; Chinese Wikipedia cites an old text saying that the Longhong spring (龙泓) “is now called Longjing”. Legend says that Emperor Qianlong named eighteen bushes by the Hugong Temple “imperial”.
    * **2002.** The mandatory national standard GB 18650-2002 “Product of protected designation of origin. Longjing” was issued.
    * **2008.** GB/T 18650-2008 “Product of geographical indication. Longjing” was published on July 15 and came into force on October 1. It became a recommended standard, the safety norms were referred to GB 2762 and GB 2763, and a requirement was added: machine processing must conform to the Longjing technology.
    * **2008.** According to an encyclopedic reference, the Xihu Longjing technique was included in the state list of intangible heritage (No. Ⅷ-148).
    * **2012.** The provincial processing regulation DB33/T 239-2012 replaced the 1999 machine regulation and added manual processing.
    * **2022.** On November 29, UNESCO inscribed “Traditional tea processing techniques and associated social practices in China” on its list; the Xihu Longjing technique is part of the nomination.
    * **2024.** Announcement No. 597 of the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), dated September 27, 2024, authorized the special geographical indication mark for four more Longjing enterprises.
    * **2025.** On the national standards platform, on August 4, 2025, a review of GB/T 18650-2008 was recorded with the conclusion “remains in force”.
* **Name:** 龙 — “dragon”, 井 — “well”: “Dragon Well tea”.
* **Cultural significance:** “Longjing” is all three areas, “Xihu Longjing” is only the Xihu area, with its own standards.

**3. Botanical Description and Raw Material:**

* **Varieties:** The standard admits the Longjing population (龙井群体), Longjing 43, Longjing Changye, Yingshuang (迎霜), the Jiukeng variety (鸠坑种) and other approved varieties suitable for Longjing. According to an explanation by the compiler of the standard, they also include Jiaming No. 1 (嘉茗一号), colloquially Wuniu Zao ([乌牛早](https://thetea.app/article/wuniu-zao)).
* **Qunti and Longjing 43:** According to material from the Hangzhou municipal administration, *qúntǐ* ([群体种](https://thetea.app/article/qunti-zhong), *qúntǐ zhǒng*) is a local seed population, and Longjing 43 is an early clonal variety of the Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, bred from the same population; neither is better than the other.
* **Harvest:** Picking begins when there are 10–15 buds of the required quality per square meter of canopy; in spring — every day or every other day, by hand, shoot by shoot (提手采).
* **Raw material standard:** Five grades of fresh leaf — from a bud with one barely opened leaf, the bud longer than the leaf, no longer than 2.5 cm (the top grade), to a bud with two or three leaves up to 4.5 cm long (the fourth). Leaf below the fourth grade does not go into Longjing.

**4. Terroir and Cultivation Features:**

* **Region:** According to the standard — the mountains and hills of the Qiantang and Cao'e river basins; warm, with much rain and humid air.
* **Soils:** Mainly red-yellow soils and their variants, pH 4.3–6.5.
* **Growing altitude:** The standard does not set altitudes; no data in the sources consulted.
* **Agronomy:** According to the standard — loosening to 10–15 cm during the season and to 20–30 cm in autumn; nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium usually 3:1:1.
* **Output:** According to a Hangzhou press publication, 22,000 t of Longjing was produced in 2018. Yuezhou produces the most, then Qiantang; the Xihu area accounts for only a few percent of output, by one estimate about 3.5 %.

**5. Production Technology:**

The standard sets the basic scheme: **spreading (摊放, *tānfàng*) — first pan-firing (青锅, *qīngguō*) — cooling and moisture regain (摊凉回潮, *tānliáng huícháo*) — second pan-firing (辉锅, *huīguō*)**. Manual pan-firing is built on ten techniques: 抓, 抖, 搭, 榻, 捺, 推, 扣, 甩, 磨, 压.

The provincial regulation DB33/T 239-2012 gives the figures:

1. **Spreading:** 6–12 h, a layer of leaf of the second grade and above — no thicker than 30 mm, until moisture falls to (70 ± 2) %.
2. **Manual *qīngguō*:** pan at 150–200 °C, for the top grade — 150–170 °C and 100–150 g of leaf per pan, more for the lower grades; 12–14 min, to a moisture of about 40 %.
3. **Resting:** 30–60 min, so that moisture evens out across bud, stem and leaf.
4. **Manual *huīguō*:** 200–250 g per pan for the upper grades, 15–20 min, to a moisture of no more than 6.5 %; at the end the down is removed, and the finished leaf breaks between the fingers.
5. **Machine variant:** *qīngguō* in a machine at 220–260 °C for 4–6 min, setting of the shape and final drying in a drum.
6. **Liming (收灰, *shōuhuī*):** 10–15 days next to quicklime at a tea-to-lime ratio of 5:1, through paper or white cloth.


**6. Organoleptic Characteristics:**

The standard divides the tea into six grades — top and first through fifth. For the top grade:

* **Dry leaf appearance:** Flat, smooth, glossy, straight, with a sharp tip; tender green, fresh; even, firm, clean (扁平光润、挺直尖削；嫩绿鲜润).
* **Dry leaf aroma:** The standard does not describe it separately.
* **Liquor aroma:** Clean, fresh and lasting (清香持久); at the fifth grade — even (平和).
* **Taste:** Fresh, mellow, sweet and brisk (鲜醇甘爽).
* **Liquor color:** Tender green, bright, clear (嫩绿明亮、清澈); at the fifth grade — yellow-green.
* **Spent leaves (wet leaves):** Fine tender buds with leaf, opened “like a flower”, even, tender green and bright (芽叶细嫩成朵).

The popular formula of the “four perfections” says “味甘”, the standard says “味醇”.

**7. Chemical Composition:**

The standard sets physicochemical indicators:

| Indicator | Top, 1st, 2nd grades | 3rd, 4th, 5th grades |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Moisture, not more than | 6.5 % | 7.0 % |
| Total ash, not more than | 6.5 % | 7.0 % |

For all grades, water-soluble extractives — not less than 36.0 %, dust and broken leaf — not more than 1.0 %. The standard has no norms for amino acids and polyphenols.

**8. Health Properties:**

There are no verified data on the effects of this particular tea.

**9. Brewing:**

Class practice for green tea.

* **Water temperature:** 80–85 °C.
* **Tea amount:** 3 g per 150 ml.
* **Teaware:** Glass tumbler or a white gaiwan.
* **Process:**
    1. Warm the teaware.
    2. Add the tea and pour the water down the side.
    3. First infusion — after 40–60 seconds.
    4. Drink, leaving part of the liquor, and top up with water.
    5. Two or three repeated infusions.

**10. Storage:**

According to the standard — in a clean, dry, cool warehouse without odors, with lime or in the cold, at about 5 °C, away from sun and damp. At home, by class practice — airtight packaging in the refrigerator; it is better to drink it within a year.

**11. Price and Counterfeits:**

Price data are not found in the sources consulted.

* **How to avoid counterfeits:**
    * Only tea from the three areas is called Longjing; similar tea from other places, in the words of one of the compilers of the standard (2019), is merely “flat tea” (扁形茶).
    * Authorized enterprises apply the special geographical indication mark and, according to the standard, state the area — Xihu, Qiantang or Yuezhou.
    * “Xihu Longjing” is legitimate only for the Xihu area.

**12. Interesting Facts:**

* The 2002 standard was mandatory; the 2008 standard is recommended.
* Keeping the finished tea next to quicklime is mentioned by the national standard, and the provincial regulation gives its figures: 10–15 days, tea to lime 5:1.
* The popular formula promises a “sweet” taste, and the standard a “mellow” one.

**13. Comparison with Other Teas:**

* **Xihu Longjing ([西湖龙井](https://thetea.app/article/xihu-longjing)):** The tea of the Xihu area — the narrowest level within the name, with its own standards.
* **Yuexiang Longjing ([越乡龙井](https://thetea.app/article/yuexiang-long-jing)) and Dafo Longjing ([大佛龙井](https://thetea.app/article/dafu-long-jing)):** The Longjing teas of Shengzhou and Xinchang, in the Yuezhou area.
* **Qiandao Yuye ([千岛玉叶](https://thetea.app/article/qiandao-yu-ye)):** A flat green tea of Chun'an — a county that is part of the Qiantang area.
* **Sanxia Longjing ([三峡龙井](https://thetea.app/article/sanxia-long-jing)):** A Hubei tea made by Longjing technology; Hubei is not part of the standard's zone.

**In Conclusion:**

*Lóngjǐng chá* is not one garden but a name with clear boundaries: three areas, 18 administrative units and one standard that sets the varieties, five grades of fresh leaf, six grades of finished tea and the technology of two pan-firings. A flat smooth leaf, a fresh aroma and a tender green liquor are the common denominator for all three areas; “Xihu Longjing” within this framework is a separate story.