Chinese Green Tea Guide: Longjing, Bi Luo Chun and the Pan-Fired Tradition

Chinese green tea predates Japanese green tea by centuries and represents a different tradition of processing. Where Japanese green tea is almost always steamed to halt oxidation, Chinese green tea is typically pan-fired — heated in a wok or iron pan — which produces a different flavour profile. The pan-firing step dries the leaves while gently roasting them, creating Maillard compounds that contribute nutty, chestnut-like and slightly toasty flavours absent from most Japanese green teas. The result is a green tea that is less vegetal and more aromatic, with notes that range from toasted nuts and grass to sweet bean and chestnut.

The major Chinese green teas — Longjing (Dragon Well), Bi Luo Chun (Green Snail Spring), Huangshan Maofeng (Yellow Mountain Fur Peak), and others — each represent specific regional traditions, leaf shapes, and processing techniques. Understanding them requires looking at the processing style, the leaf shape, and the region together.

The principle behind Chinese green tea

Chinese green tea flavour is shaped by processing style (pan-firing vs steaming), leaf grade (bud vs leaf), and regional terroir. Pan-firing produces nutty, toasty notes; steaming produces grassy, vegetal notes. Bud-heavy teas (like Bi Luo Chun) produce more delicate, sweeter cups; leaf-heavy teas (like Longjing) produce more body and complexity. The combination of these variables creates the wide flavour range of Chinese green tea.

Leaf, water temperature and contact time interact, so changing one without noting the others tells you very little. Tea also forgives high temperature far less than coffee does: the same leaf that is sweet at 80C can be flatly astringent at 95C. Fix temperature first, then adjust the leaf.

What most changes the result

Pan-firing vs steaming

Most Chinese green teas are pan-fired, which produces the characteristic nutty, toasty character. A few (such as some Enshi Yulu) are steamed, producing a more Japanese-style cup. Pan-firing temperatures vary: lighter pan-firing produces a more delicate cup; heavier pan-firing produces a more roasted, almost oolong-like character.

Longjing (Dragon Well)

From Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. Made from small, flat, pale green leaves with a distinctive shape — pressed flat during pan-firing. The flavour is sweet, chestnut-like, with a vegetal undertone and a long, smooth finish. Longjing is one of the most famous Chinese teas and a benchmark for the pan-fired style.

Bi Luo Chun (Green Snail Spring)

From Jiangsu province. Made from very small leaves with abundant white downy hairs, curled into tight spirals. The flavour is floral, fruity, with notes of stone fruit and a sweet finish. The high ratio of buds to leaves gives it a more delicate character than Longjing.

Huangshan Maofeng

From Anhui province. Made from slightly larger leaves with a needle-like shape. The flavour is balanced between Longjing's roasted character and Bi Luo Chun's floral notes, with a smooth, slightly sweet finish.

Other notable Chinese green teas

Liu'an Gua Pian (melon seed) and Tai Ping Hou Kui (monkey picking) both represent regional specialities with their own processing traditions and flavour profiles. Note that Huang Guanyin — sometimes listed alongside green teas — is in fact an oolong from Anxi, processed by partial oxidation rather than the pan-firing typical of true green teas.

A repeatable starting method

1. Use a glass cup or small teapot for Chinese green tea. The glass allows you to appreciate the unfurling leaves, which is part of the experience.
2. Heat water to 75–85 °C (lower for bud-heavy teas, higher for leaf-heavy teas). Boiling water is too hot for most Chinese green teas.
3. Use 3–5 grams of leaf per 200 ml of water. Chinese green teas are often brewed with more leaf than Japanese green teas because the brewing method is typically multiple short infusions rather than a single longer steep.
4. For Longjing, use a glass cup and add the leaves directly. Pour water at 80 °C and let it steep for 2–3 minutes, then drink down to the last sip before adding more water.
5. For Bi Luo Chun, use a small gaiwan or glass teapot. The first infusion is typically 30 seconds; subsequent infusions are 15–30 seconds each.

Note the leaf weight, the water temperature, the vessel and the length of each steep separately. Tea changes across infusions, so a single averaged impression hides most of what the leaf actually did.

The numbers we use

These are the figures behind our own green tea guidance, and the starting point this article assumes.

When it goes wrong

• Bitter and drying — Water too hot, or steeped too long Let the kettle stand longer, and pull the leaf at 2 minutes.
• Tastes of nothing — Not enough leaf Use more leaf rather than a longer steep.

Worth knowing: Caffeine and serving strength vary with dose, preparation, and individual sensitivity.

Common mistakes

• Using boiling water. Chinese green teas, especially premium ones, are more delicate than the temperature suggests and produce bitter cups at 100 °C.
• Treating Chinese and Japanese green tea as interchangeable. The processing traditions produce different flavour profiles, and the same brewing parameters do not suit both equally well.
• Confusing Longjing varieties. There are many regional Longjings at very different price points; the "pre-Dragon Well" designation matters more than the geographic label.
• Storing Chinese green tea for too long. These teas are best consumed within 6–12 months of harvest. Older teas lose their characteristic aroma and become flat.

How to choose your next adjustment

Choose Chinese green tea based on the flavour profile you prefer: Longjing for nutty, sweet, chestnut-like cups; Bi Luo Chun for floral, fruity, delicate cups; Huangshan Maofeng for a balance between the two. Brew at 75–85 °C and taste as you go.

One caveat on caffeine: leaf ratio and steep length move it more than the tea type does. Brewing gongfu-style at six times the usual leaf ratio produces a far larger dose per cup than the category figure implies.

Related on CupCura

• Huangshan Maofeng Green Tea
• Morocco Mint Tradition
• Jasmine Maofeng Green Tea
• Bi Luo Chun Green Tea
• Moroccan Mint Green Tea
• The tea catalogue
• Water temperature and steep times

Frequently asked questions

What should I change first with chinese green tea?

Pan-firing vs steaming. Most Chinese green teas are pan-fired, which produces the characteristic nutty, toasty character. A few (such as some Enshi Yulu) are steamed, producing a more Japanese-style cup. Pan-firing temperatures vary: lighter pan-firing produces a more delicate cup; heavier pan-firing produces a more roasted, almost oolong-like character.

What is the most common mistake?

Using boiling water. Chinese green teas, especially premium ones, are more delicate than the temperature suggests and produce bitter cups at 100 °C. It is worth ruling that out before changing anything else, because it makes every other adjustment harder to read.

Does other notable Chinese green teas matter?

Liu'an Gua Pian (melon seed) and Tai Ping Hou Kui (monkey picking) both represent regional specialities with their own processing traditions and flavour profiles. Note that Huang Guanyin — sometimes listed alongside green teas — is in fact an oolong from Anxi, processed by partial oxidation rather than the pan-firing typical of true green teas.

How do I know when to stop steeping?

When the infusion stops giving you something you want. Good leaf usually keeps going longer than people expect, and the later steeps are often the most interesting part of the session.

Sources

• Zhao Y. Chinese Tea: A Cultural History. Yale University Press, 2015 — historical and regional context.