Dragon Well Tea flourishes in the mountainous area where mild climate and plentiful rainfall are plentiful year-round. Around West Lake, Shifeng Peak, Longjing Village, Yunxi Mountain, Hupao and Meijiawu Region offer such prime conditions. The tea leaves picked before Grain Rain are fairly good and are called Yuqian Tea. The selection process of tea leaves is very strict. Only the delicate and complete tea leaves are to be picked. After the fresh leaves have been picked, tea makers should first grade them, as different qualities of leaves need to be dealt with different temperature and techniques.

There is much knowledge about selecting Longjing Tea. Consumers can judge from the color, aroma, taste and shape of the tea.
Color: Top-grade tea is yellowish green; Medium-grade tea’s color is mainly pure green; Low-grade tea is a dark green.
Aroma: To brew the tea, take 3g to 5g. Pour out the tea water after brewing and then smell if the tea has the strong or faint scent.
Taste: Look for an aftertaste after drinking the top-grade tea. It will taste somewhat sweet instead of bitter. (Excessive tea will also lead to acidity. So it is best to use about 5g tea).
Shape: Top-grade tea leaves look flat, even, and smooth on the tea surface with a length of about 2cm. Over-long or over-short tea will affect the quality.