null

Organic Dragonwell Lung Ching Green Tea

Notes of freshly cut grass and toasted chestnuts, with a light minerality

fair trade certified certified organic
Organic Dragonwell Lung Ching Green Tea
$3.00
Orders over $60 ship free in USA
 
 
 
 
 

Organic Dragonwell Lung Ching Green Tea

compostable-tea-packaging-1.jpg

Dragon Well ("lung ching" or "long jing" in Chinese) is perhaps the most famous green tea from China, named after the Dragon's Well landmark in the West Lake area of the Zhejiang Province, where the tea was first made. Dragon Well is known for its unique shape and remarkable flavor. During pan firing, the leaves are folded in on themselves, forming the characteristic sword-like shape.

Our organic and Fair Trade Certified Dragonwell green tea is grown in the Jiangxi region and manufactured in the Dragonwell style. Its pale golden yellow infusion is smooth and light bodied. The well-balanced flavor profile of the liquor suggests freshly cut grass, young string beans and toasted chestnuts, with a light minerality that lingers on the palate.

This organic tea is our standard grade Dragonwell Green Tea. For those looking for a higher grade Dragonwell, please try our Organic Emerald Spring Lung Ching Green Tea.

Ingredients: organic and Fair Trade Certified Chinese green tea

Origin: Dazhangshan Tea Gardens, Jiangxi Province, China

dazhangshan-jiangxi-province-china-1.jpg

Jiangxi Province, located in eastern China, is surrounded by mountains on three sides and sits comfortably in a subtropical climate, making it an excellent place for growing tea. Situated in Wuyuan county, the Da Zhang Shan Tea Garden maintains the region’s 1200-year reputation as the “golden triangle” of exceptional tea production. Certified organic in 1997, Da Zhang Shan was the first producer organization in China to gain Fair Trade certification in 2001. With over 5,400 member households, the Da Zhang Shan Tea Association has used their premiums to renovate 3 factories, establish a microcredit program, and build a school, among many other initiatives.

Steeping Instructions

dragonwell-lung-ching-tea-steeping-instructions.jpg

At Arbor Teas, we believe tea should be brewed to suit your personal taste. We’re happy to make recommendations to get you started, but don’t hesitate to experiment! When brewing your tea, your main considerations are tea quantity, water temperature, and steeping time. We recommend green and white teas to be steeped for 2 to 3 minutes in water heated to not-quite-boiling, just as bubbles begin to form on the bottom of the pan (approximately 170 to 180 degrees F). For the best flavor, use fresh water whenever possible. Try not to steep your tea longer than necessary, as you’ll extract undesirable bitterness from the leaves. If you want a stronger brew, don’t steep longer, just use more tea. And don’t forget to re-steep your tea leaves to get the most out of your leaf!

Looking for more info? Check out our How-To Guides and Eco-Brewing Tips!

Staff Perspectives

  • Lea

    "I love the shape of the leaves, the blades are soft and silky to the touch."

  • Jeremy

    "This is one of the only representations available on the market of a Dragonwell-style green tea that is organic and Fair Trade Certified!"

  • Aubrey

    "Compare this tea with our Japanese Sencha green tea to truly appreciate the differences between Chinese and Japanese green tea"

Health Benefits

green-tea-health.jpg

Like all true tea, green tea offers many potential health benefits. Research has found that tea (Camellia sinensis) can have many positive effects on human health, including improved cardiovascular function, cancer risk reduction, improved immune function, improved oral health, and help with weight management. Tea is also full of polyphenols, which are a class of antioxidant that help your body maintain homeostasis and balance your stress levels.

Green tea specifically is known for its array of health benefits, which have been supported by a growing number of studies. Green tea research has demonstrated that it may be an effective anticancer agent for breast cancer, lung cancer, kidney cancer and prostate cancer, among others. Studies have shown a link between green tea and weight loss, and the ability to modulate energy metabolism, aid in body fat regulation, and possibly promote preferential loss in abdominal fat. Research has also shown that green tea may increase performance for short term memory tasks, as well as being increasing potency of antibiotics. Other peer-reviewed studies link green tea to healthy skin, help with lowering cholesterol, and regulating diabetes. It’s important to keep in mind that many of these studies monitor subjects who drink several cups of green tea per day.

For more information about the health benefits of green tea, and for direct sources of the above information, check out our Tea Health Benefits page!

Please note: the information above is for educational purposes only and has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Lung Ching Lore

lung-ching-lore.jpg

There is an incredible amount of Chinese lore surrounding Dragonwell (lung ching or long jing in Chinese), with each tale more mystifying than the last. One tale tells of an old woman who had a house near a crossroads, and as passersby came and went she gave them tea. She had no more than an old mortar and two tea trees. One winter, an old man came to her and gave her money. In this story, it is implied that the old man was a wandering spirit who enjoyed the tea and the service the old lady provided. Noticing that she was in trouble, he tested her dedication to tea. After seeing that she was faithful to her brewing method, and that she cared well for the mortar and tea trees, the spirit left her enough money to make it through the difficult winter, and blessed her with the ability to grow tea trees.

Dragonwell Tea is considered the tea of royalty and has a specific manufacturing process that was perfected on Lion Peak Mountain (a mountain in the western part of Zhejiang province). Its manufacturing technique has been emulated by numerous other areas in China, but the most authentic Dragonwell teas comes from the West Lake District. One of the many differentiating steps during its manufacture is the hand-roasting in a wok. There are two temperature ranges necessary for proper roasting: a lower temperature range (140-160 degrees F) to burn off the tiny white hairs that naturally cover the leaves and remove most of the water; and a higher temperature range (175-212 degrees F) for 12-15 minutes to broaden and flatten out the leaves. Tea craftsmen and women may spend up to 3 years learning their craft and earning their title.

For even more information about this and other traditions, visit our Tea Traditions page!

Customer Reviews

We always want to hear from you! Post your own review and earn 10 rewards points.
Write a Review
  • 5
    Fragrant and smooth

    Posted by Carolina B. Ramos Gonzalez on 29th Apr 2023

    Absolutely fragrant and soothing to the taste!

  • 3
    Great tea

    Posted by AZ on 16th Nov 2021

    This Dragon Well style tea is a good budget option but personally the higher quality Emerald Spring is the one to go with. This version is more than enjoyable but lacks the depth and flavor of the higher end version. What it lacks in taste it more than makes up for in price though.

  • 5
    Dragonwell Lung Ching

    Posted by Rob P. on 28th Sep 2021

    Perfect afternoon pick me up, especially slightly cool. The tea has an unusual invigorating yet soothing effect that I’ve come to enjoy. The flavors are balanced and light without any single aspect dominating. Thirst quenching and hydrating especially after a workout.

  • 5
    Morning ritual

    Posted by Emily B. on 4th Jun 2021

    Beautiful and balanced, this tea has been my early morning go-to for more than a year now. I've tried most of Arbor Tea's unflavored green teas, and this one just strikes the right note for my daily cup. I do take the occasional break from it, but it always delights me all over again when I come back.

  • 3
    Dragonwell, well

    Posted by Garrett B on 1st Dec 2020

    I up the leaf quantity to about double and brew at around 185 and then this tea fully expresses itself. Only just one person's opinion! Great taste, once one gets the profile. Maybe this tea's just stubborn

  • 4
    Slightly sweet

    Posted by Kara on 12th Apr 2017

    This tea has a slightly sweet note to it, very mild. I tend to prefer more vegetal, grassy green teas but this one wasn't bad.

  • 5
    Well Balanced and Great price

    Posted by Unknown on 1st Dec 2016

    This tea is absolutely wonderful... Very balanced flavor that is at some sips a little buttery and sweet, and at other sips a little grassy and well... green. Great Price and a great tea!

  • 4
    First Arbor Teas Order

    Posted by Samuel Godsey on 22nd Nov 2016

    This was my first order and I was pleased! It has a wonderful flavor and is well priced!

  • 2
    Maybe Dragonwells aren't my bag

    Posted by McKinley L. on 7th Sep 2016

    I found this one a bit lacking. It was "delicate," I guess, but to me that just meant that I had to to use significantly more leaves than I usually do to get a flavorful cup. And when I did get a full taste, I was unimpressed. It was like a weaker, less interesting version of Arbor's Chun Mee, but with a very faint funk in the back that was a turn off. Some mild, earthy nuttiness, but that's about it. I will say, though, that I've only had one or two other Dragonwells and that I've never really been thrilled with the stuff. So maybe it just isn't my bag.

  • 5
    Excellent everyday green tea!

    Posted by Jeremy on 1st Nov 2014

    I enjoy many varieties of green tea, from Japanese sencha and matcha to mellow Chinese varieties. Typically for an everyday green tea, I enjoy types that are slightly on the vegetal side. To that end, I heartily enjoy Arbor Teas' Dragonwell. It is flavorful, has a lovely color in the cup, is not overly astringent, and has a pleasantly vegetal side to it, without the "grassy" characteristic that occasionally comes to mind. Plus, when buying the bulk bag, you'd be hard-pressed to find a more enjoyable everyday green tea that is loose-leaf, organic, Fair Trade Certified, and less than $0.20 a cup!

  • 2
    not impressed

    Posted by michael C on 17th Jul 2014

    This has got to be the lowest quality dragonwell tea that I've ever had. There are lots of little twigs and most of the tea has been smashed liked its been processed for tea bags. Maybe I just got the bottom of the barrel but I will not order again based on this experience. I would recommend to look elsewhere online. There are many other options with better quality tea.

  • 4
    Quite Smooth

    Posted by Michael S on 10th Jan 2014

    This is the first loose leaf tea I have tried at home. After brewing it a few times, I must say it is quite delicious. I find it to be smooth, and very hard to be over extracted. The flavor is on the lighter side in my opinion, so this is no BOLD tea. Great everyday drinker for sure.

  • 5
    Dragonwell is my favorite!

    Posted by Leslie Doll on 1st Dec 2013

    This is my favorite green tea; I've tried it from several different sources and this is one of the best! Rich and slightly nutty, this tea is delicous hot or cold.

  • 5
    One of my Favorites

    Posted by Shelley on 10th Mar 2013

    I'm new to loose leaf teas and I have been sampling many varieties to find my favorites. This is definitely one of them. I really wanted to like Sencha or Gyokuro better to fit in with my usual Japanese culture preference, but I think China wins for me as far as tea goes. This dragonwell tea is just sooo yummy! I do however like the Japanese Houjicha and Kukicha. I wish I knew exactly what it is I like about the tea so this review would be more helpful, but I hope that including other likes and dislikes might help in the way of "if you like this, you may also like..."

  • 3
    A Pleasant Green Tea

    Posted by Joseph Paulson on 19th Jul 2012

    The leaf is well formed and shaped in the lung ching tradition. Not many broken pieces. And the scent of the dry leaf is sweet, reminiscent of hay or cut grass. The tea brews a brownish, unappealing liquor. But a taste of the tea makes up for the muddy appearance. The most unique and pleasing flavor is of sea vegetables, and the finish is lemony and tart. Enjoyable on a quiet afternoon.

  • 4
    Fine everyday green tea

    Posted by Graham Friday on 22nd May 2012

    This tea wasn't quite the same as what I expected when I ordered it- it had a fair amount of little wooden stems in it that I had not seen in my previous dragonwell. It took a little while to get used to the different taste (more umami, akin to bancha, than the previous dragonwell I've had) but eventually I really warmed up to this tea, and I drink it at least once everyday now. I was told by an employee here that the emerald spring lung ching is a higher quality of dragonwell, so keep that in mind when ordering.

  • 4
    A Nice All-Day Green Tea

    Posted by Aysia on 15th Feb 2012

    I really enjoy sipping this green tea throughout the day. The flavor is well-rounded, and without any bitterness. I only steep it for about 1 minute, which seems to be perfect. This is a nice, every day green tea that can be enjoyed throughout the day. I also like how the tea pairs well with everything I have tried it with (in other words, it is a basic tea that will not overpower). Quite a delight!

  • 3
    Great a first, but rapidly declined in aroma and flavor...

    Posted by Lukasz on 6th Dec 2011

    I purposely waited 9+ months to review this tea in order to provide a true assessment of it. I ordered this tea in bulk and stored it inside the large air tight metal containers sold here. For the first two or so months, this tea was great. Aroma out of the bag was a very pleasant nutty scent. First infusion was always well balanced and very soothing. Second and third infusion was typically less flavorful with much of the nutty aroma gone. I take care of my teas and for whatever reason this one fell off a cliff after two or so months. The great nutty aroma of the tea nearly disappeared and the flavor became more and more stale. It could be that this tea is a lot more fragile than others, but unfortunately I had to throw out the remainder of my bulk package after 5-6 months. It was just about undrinkable.

  • 4
    A great green tea to start...

    Posted by Christine Hart on 21st Oct 2010

    As the description notes I agree with the 'balanced flavor profile' - it has a delicate almost sage like flavor; it tastes like the color green. This is a staple green tea. Very popular variety; one cannot go wrong in picking this one. My only comment... this tea is very sensitive to the temperature you seep it in. I suppose all teas are to some extent. This tea has to be seeped in roughly 180 degrees F. That's 30 degrees short of boiling so one has to develop an awareness of one's kettle (or however you heat water). It took me a long time to figure out exactly when to take the kettle off the burner otherwise this tea turns utterly bitter and the flavor is destroyed. Just master the temp and the tea will be wonderful!

  • 5
    Great Tea

    Posted by Andrew on 3rd Mar 2010

    This was a replacement for my normal Fresh & Easy Brand Organic Lung Ching that they recently discontinued on me. Miss the cheap price and convenience of a store bought tea but actually I found this tea to be much smoother and almost creamy.

  • 5
    Great everyday tea

    Posted by Joe Brodnicki on 30th Sep 2009

    Dragonwell Lung Ching Green Tea has a balanced flavor with a touch of bitter and nutty/smoky tastes that make green tea my favorite drink. Not too heavy but a taste that will holds up over time.

  • 5
    "The One"

    Posted by Lalberal on 1st Jun 2009

    I just taste-tested Dragonwell Lung Ching against Gunpowder Green and Chun Mee Green. Dragonwell was my favorite. It is very mild and light somewhat floral and leaves a very pleasant aftertaste. I have found "my tea."

  • 5
    Favorite Green Tea

    Posted by Unknown on 12th Aug 2008

    This was the first tea I've ever tried from Arbor Teas and it is by far my favorite green tea. The flavor is perfectly balanced. It is truly exquisite.

  • 5
    Great tea!

    Posted by Gretchen on 15th Apr 2008

    This has huge full flavor. A wonderful tea!

  • 5
    Wonderful Tea

    Posted by Keith Skronek on 28th Nov 2007

    Big soft mouth feel without a strong flavor. I drink this tea all day and is by far my favorite of the five teas I've tried from Arbor Teas.

  • Show All Reviews