Tea Picking in the Longjing Hills
Hosted by Li Wei
4 yrs hosting
Cultural context
Longjing (龙井, "Dragon Well") is China's most celebrated green tea, grown on the hillsides west of West Lake for over a thousand years. Spring picking — just a bud and a leaf, by hand — is a race against the calendar: leaves picked before the Qingming festival (明前茶) are the year's most prized. Firing the leaves by hand in a hot wok is a craft that takes masters years to learn.
What you'll do
0:00
Meet in the tea village, get your basket and hat, and learn to spot "one bud, one leaf".
0:30
Pick in the terraced garden with the farmers (spring harvest; in other seasons: garden walk and grades tasting).
2:00
Watch — then try — pan-firing your leaves in the wok with a village master.
3:00
Brew and taste what you made, farmhouse lunch snacks, and pack your tea to take home.
Etiquette tips
- ✓Pinch the stem, don't pull — a torn leaf bruises and spoils the flavor.
- ✓Ask before photographing the farmers at work; a shared cup afterwards is the better souvenir.
Good to know
Included
- Garden access, picking basket and hat in a working Longjing tea garden
- Pan-firing your own leaves with a village master
- Farmhouse lunch snacks and a tasting of what you made
- Your hand-picked tea, packed to take home
Not included
- Hotel pickup & transport
- Food & drinks (unless stated)
