BEIJING,
March 29 -- China's most famous green tea - Longjing Tea (Dragon Well) - has a
new self-proclaimed brother.
Both teas have the same green leaf appearance, are
processed the same way, and even grow around the West Lake in Hangzhou of
Zhejiang Province.
But don't be fooled. The taste and price are very
different.
The high quality Longjing tea is often sold for as
much 11,200 yuan (1,435 U.S. dollars) per kilogram, or about 60 yuan (7.70
dollars) for a few sips in Beijing.
Wuniuzao tea, the so-called early Longjing tea
currently available at tea markets in Beijing and other big cities, is only
priced about 1,000 yuan (128 dollars) per kilogram.
Wuniuzao, a native plant from Wenzhou in the same
province, is one of the earliest maturing green teas. The product is usually put
onto the market in February.
But not all Longjing tea is fake.
"The brand teahouse and chain stores will ensure
quality products," Qi Guowei, director of the West Lake District Longjing Tea
Production Association in Hangzhou, said.
Jiao Chunhui, a director of the logistics department
of the Beijing Wuyutai Tea, a leading tea reseller and producer based in
Beijing, said they would normally only sell 10 kilograms of high quality
Longjing tea this early in spring.
Most real Longjing tea will hit the shelves about
mid-April, Jiao said.
"The price will be around 900 yuan (115 dollars) per
kilogram," Jiao said.
Sales of Longjing Tea have been grown 30 percent
annually at Wuyutai.
"We've seen a strong growth of Longjing sales since
the severe acute respiratory syndrome," Jiao said. "People are more aware of the
fact that green tea is very healthy."
Jiao said it was a common misconception that the
earlier and more tender variety was a better green tea.
"If the green tea is picked too early, its internal
material is not rich enough to generate sufficient flavor and nutrition," Jiao
said.
(Source: China Daily)
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