Harvest Date: April 2026
Harvest Location: Lin'an, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
Elevation: 800m
Cultivar: Seed Grown Jiu Keng Qun Ti Zhong
 
This high-grade Long Jing is produced in a certified organic tea garden in Lin’an District, Hangzhou.
Located about 60 km west of West Lake (Xi Hu), Lin’an sits in the mountainous hinterland of Hangzhou.
 
During the Southern Song Dynasty, the imperial capital was moved to Hangzhou, then called Lin’an—an origin of the district’s historic name.
 
This tea garden lies at an elevation of approximately 800 meters and was planted in the 1990s from seed-grown Jiu Keng Qun Ti Zhong (鸠坑群体种), a traditional, genetically diverse Long Jing population cultivar native to Zhejiang. Unlike the modern Longjing #43 clonal cultivar, which is propagated by cuttings for uniformity and early sprouting, Jiu Keng Qun Ti Zhong is grown from seed, resulting in deeper roots, broader genetic variation, and often greater aromatic complexity in the cup.
 
The garden has held organic certification since 2005. Its exceptional quality comes from the combination of high elevation, organic farming practices, and the rich genetic diversity of these seed-grown tea plants.
 
The tea is finished using the classic Long Jing hand-firing technique in a wok, which shapes the leaves into their characteristic flat form while developing the hallmark aroma known locally in Hangzhou as Lan Hua Dou Xiang (兰花豆香) — “orchid and roasted bean fragrance.” The liquor is mellow, sweet, and deeply aromatic, with a lingering, elegant finish.