The characteristic fresh clean taste of Dragon Well tea lies within the tip. The leaves must be "smooth in straight planes", and the color of unpolished rice.

 

The best Dragon Well green tea is never really green, so do not be fooled by that.

 

Once you have laid your hands on the genuine leaves, take care to prepare them well. Prepare hot water of 80 C, a glass tea bowl with a wide opening and a porcelain tea pot. Carefully place the leaves in the teapot, pour in the water quickly and drain the teacup just as quickly.

 

There will be a whiff or orchid, the fragrance of fried beans and a smoothness that clears the throat as it goes down.

 

In tea jargon, this characteristic is "clean and fresh", a sensation that comes from the amino acid-infused tea leaves, natural elements that are good for body and skin. Green tea works to guard the body against carcinogens and the leaves contain antioxidants, or anti-aging agents that skin care products love to extract and promote.

 

The World Health Organization recognizes that green tea is good for health.

 

The Chinese have known the benefits of Dragon Well green tea for more than 1,000 years now and started drinking it in the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), named it in the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and made it an emperor's own in the Qing Dynasty.

 

Zhou Yutong is tea sommelier at the Four Seasons Beijing.