Something you may not know about Lungching
The Longjing tea and Hupao water are world-famous as the two most unparalleled treasures in Hangzhou.
The earliest record of Longjing tea dates back to the Northern Song Dynasty, became famous in Yuan Dynasty and famed during the Ming and Qing Dynasty. Su Shi(a famous poet in China) strongly praised the Hupao water in his poem “The Hupao Fountain”. The Hupao Fountain is one of the noted fountains in Hangzhou, whose water is pure, sweet and mellow. Steep dragon well tea with the Hupao water, which are called the two most unparalleled treasures in West Lake, you’ll feel the fragrance overflowing from your mouth and your brain is refreshed. Guo Moruo(a famous author of China) had ever composed a poem to praise that: “The tiger went away while the spring runs still, the visitors come while the tea is pretty sweet. ”
When steep the Longjing tea, you should take out a glass. Brew the leaves into the glass, then you’ll see the tea buds float slowly like waterlilies, soft and lovely. The tea with emerald-green water, lofty aroma and sweet and mellow taste, is indeed a nonesuch of tea. In Hangzhou the real enjoyment is to drink the Longjing tea steeped with the Hupao water. The Hupao water has a larger molecular density and a stronger surface tension so when you put a five-fen coin softly in the glass full of the Hupao water, the coin will not sink but float on the water surface. Even if the water surface is above the cup up to three millimeters, the water does not overflow.The Hupao water seepages through the insoluble quartz sandstones so that per liter of water only contains 0.02-0.15 grams of minerals. The sweet and sterile water has a health care effect of resolving excess salt for human bodies. Steeping the tie guan yin tea with the Hupao water has been commended all along.
Steeping the high-end Longjing tea we choose the clear crystal glass, through which we can enjoy the beautiful tea dancing in the water. For the mid-range green tea we choose ceramic cups or tureens to fill tea, and for the inferior tea we use the teapot. Utensils, although only are forms, of course, are very important. They are important visual elements as we know that drinking tea can pure our hearts. When you steep the Longjing tea, you can see the buds straightly standing in the water, and the tea water is clear while the fragrance is overflowing. The feeling of drinking tea is more important than anything else.