So I am always in a hurry in the mornings, mainly because I basically hate mornings, which means I am always racing out the door. Which means the whole concept of mindfulness blah blah blah is totally lost on me.

BUT, green whole leaf tea demands a bit of attention—because it is truly gorgeous! I mean really—just look at it!

The Leaves

Even with a quick glance at China Lung Ching green tea, for example, you see a gorgeous color spectrum, from dark green to yellow-green with touches of gold.

The Production

So what is Lung Ching?

This specialty green tea, also known as Dragon Well, is one of the “Ten Great Chinese Teas,” a dynamic list that consistently includes this tea.

Plucked in March to April, the leaves are withered and then pan fried. This last step stops the oxidation process, retaining the leaves’ bright color and flavor. In addition, the pan frying causes the leaves to fold on themselves lengthwise.

The Brew

And when you brew these leaves, they ever so gently unfold into large pieces of leaves and full leaves.

The photos above are after one two-minute infusion. You can see that some of the leaves have not fully unfolded, which means that they have not released their full flavor. A second brew is thus possible, and will result in a somewhat different flavor than the first.

The Cup

My first brew yielded a lovely color and a wonderful balance between bitter and sweet:

And as I explained in my last post, intact, complete tea leaves retain more of tea’s flavor and health benefits.

The Result

Slow down, savor—then meet the rest of the day.

Note: This China Lung Ching tea is available at TeaHaus. Recommended brewing is to use 3 g tea leaves (2 level tsp) per 8 oz of filtered water, boiled and cooled to 70°C/158°F, and allow to brew for 2 min.