Picking of LongJing Tea focus on three elements,namely Early-Picking, Picking of Tender Leaves, and Thorough Picking. The tea picked before the QingMing Festival, or Pure-Brightness, one of the 24 solar term in Chinese lunar calendar, has the best quality and is called Pre-PB tea.Grain Rain, another solar term, has a good quality and is called Pre-GR tea. Picking of Tender Leaves refers to the picking of the tender and complete tea buds and leaves, usually one bud with one leaf or one bud with two fresh leaves.Thorough Picking refers to the quantity of the picked tea leaves. Each kilogram of dry tea contains 70,000 to 80,000 fresh tender tea buds and leaves.
The LongJing Tea has been known for its green leaves, rich aroma, sweet taste, and beautiful shape. Normally, the quality of the LongJing Tea is judged one 5 aspects, namely appearance, aroma, taste, soup color, and brewed leaves. The best-quality tea has a flat and smooth appearance, tapering leaves, an even and neat contour, and a fresh green color. The good-quality LongJing Tea has a pure and fresh aroma that lasts long. Its taste is in direct proportion to its aroma.The tea leaves with good aroma usually have good taste. The fresh sweet taste is the best. Tea soup is judged on its tone, brightness, and clearness. The clear and bright tea soup is the best. The high-quality LongJing Tea has tender, complete, green, and bright brewed leaves that are in even sizes.