Low caffeine
Dragonwell Green Tea
China's most famous green tea, pan-fired into flat blades. The whole art is restraint: cooler water and a short steep keep it sweet and chestnutty instead of grassy and astringent.
- Water
- 80 °C
- Steep
- 2:00
- Serves
- 1
- Strength
- Delicate
Method
Boil the water, then let it stand 3–4 minutes to fall to roughly 80 °C — boiling water scalds green tea into bitterness.
Warm the glass with a little of the hot water and tip it out.
Add the leaves and pour the water gently down the side of the glass.
Steep 2 minutes, watching the blades sink and unfurl. Sip without straining, and top up the same leaves twice more.
2:002:00 steep
You'll need
- 250 ml water
- 3 g Dragonwell (Longjing) leaves, about 1 tbsp
- A tall glass or a gaiwan
Makes 1 cup. Scale the water and everything else together.