Meet our Members

I was introduced to Long Jing (Dragon Well) during my gap year trip to Asia back in 2000. I was having a hard time in China, expecting the country to be serene and “Daoist” and look like a Chinese painting, only to realise the place was full of traffic and construction work, and that temples have been knocked down long ago.

Quite disillusioned, I ended up in a small tea house Hangzhou, where I found everything I had been looking for. Birds in cages, guzheng music, pots with bamboo and miniature plants, - and plenty of time. I was served a grandpa style cup of Long Jing and was mesmerized by the dance of the leaves.

I have since tried a vast amount of styles, and I realised just the other day, that Long Jing is still my favourite.  It is like I have concluded a circle and returned to what was my first choice. When it comes to tea, Long Jing can be described as “vanilla”, not in flavour, but in choice. But what is wrong with that? There is a reason why it is favoured by many. It might even be described as the world’s most famous tea. It is a great tea not only to look at, but also because it is difficult to ruin and to make too astringent. It is round and nutty. I might be far away from the tea houses of Hangzhou, but Long Jing still provides me this moment of bliss, - in my car, at the couch or at the office.