How to Properly Brew Longjing

[LuYuApostle]

I got my hands on some Meijiawu Village Longjing and I was wondering how I should brew the tea. I unfortunately can't seem to get anything but colored water . Any help would be appreciated!

[iannon]

is it a higher grade then? what parameters have you been brewing it at?

[Chip]

...more leaf.

[LuYuApostle]

is it a higher grade then? what parameters have you been brewing it at?

It's a Pre-Qingming longjing and I've been brewing it around 150-160 degrees F for 2-3 minutes for two or three infusions.

[Chip]

160ish in a preheated brewing vessel sounds about right, but how much leaf to water???

[LuYuApostle]

160ish in a preheated brewing vessel sounds about right, but how much leaf to water???

Slightly generous teaspoon in a 6oz porcelain gaiwan.

[iannon]

i dunno..i would actually bump up the heat to 180 or so..maybe 185 even. try that with same leaf amount

[Chip]

You can attempt to increase 1 or more of the basic variables.

Increase leaf to water ratio.
Increase brew time.
Increase temp.

I tend to go lower in temp for finer grade LJ, I think it is the best way to enjoy the subtle nuances. Lower to mid grade LJ has a more assertive nutty aroma and taste. A finer grade one will be more naturally sweet, subtle, more veggie/floral, and even lighter.

[Faramir1976]

I realise now that I own crap Longjing. I brewed it and it was an uttter, utter, utter, utter... dissapointment + I have no idea where this Longjing comes from.
I'll try lowering the temp and adding leaf. But till now I have a roasted en distinctive nutty (actually it smells like a whole bag full of nuts) aroma and taste.

[iannon]

I realise now that I own crap Longjing. I brewed it and it was an uttter, utter, utter, utter... dissapointment + I have no idea where this Longjing comes from.
I'll try lowering the temp and adding leaf. But till now I have a roasted en distinctive nutty (actually it smells like a whole bag full of nuts) aroma and taste.

dont feel bad...I had one that smelled and kinda tasted...like deer jerky

[Beidao]

I've never succeeded at brewing Long Jing in a gaiwan. I tend to do 70 degrees (Celcius), 1-1½ min, 3 dl preheated teapot. I actually like the more nutty and buttery Long Jing. The latest Long Jing I drank was vegetal and very sweet and that was not at all what I wanted. So give me the mid grades please

[Faramir1976]

Thanks for the support iannon

[Chip]

I have had plenty of the more nutty roasted ones, not necessarily bad, just generally lower quality.

The finer ones are lighter.

[teashionista]

Good grade LJ could be quite finicky but is definitely worth the hassle. I've successfully brewed it in a glass teapot, tall glass, and gaiwan. My typical parameters are 175F water, 1g per 30ml-50ml. I've noticed that with very fresh tea I use less leaf--the aroma is potent enought. Also, I find that pre-quingming teas are more floral, while still toasty/nutty.

[tea soho]

Here is Chinese way to brew longjing, hope you like this way.

1. first boil the water to 100 degree; after boiling, let the water sit for about 1 minutes to cool down to 85~90 degrees.

2. First put 2~3 grams of tea into glass; then pour water to reach 1/3 of the glass. Rotate the glass gently for 15 seconds, and smell the aromas; then re-pour water into the glass to reach 3/4 of the glass.

3. Next, steep the tea for about 2~3 minutes; in the meantime, watch the tea leaves up and down in the water, and also, the tea buds standing up at the bottom of glass, just like the bamboo shoots.

4. Don’t drink all the tea soup before second infusion. You should re-pour the 85~90 degrees water when there is still 1/3 of tea soup, and steep for about 3 minutes, so as to get the same taste as the first infusion.

5. For third infusion, it is almost the same as the second one, except for the steeping time. A little big longer, about 4 or 5 minutes, because at this infusion, almost all the tea inner substances coming out already.