Longjing Tea Village

Why it's worth it

The village that gives China's most famous green tea its name — terraced rows of Longjing bushes climbing the valley, farmers pan-firing leaves in woks you can smell from the lane, and tea houses that pour for as long as you'll sit.

Don't miss

• A pan-frying demonstration at a farmhouse — 200°C wok, bare hands, four hours per kilo
• The eight Imperial Tea Trees Qianlong supposedly honoured, roped off up the hill
• Sitting with a glass of pre-Qingming first-flush tea while it stands and re-steeps three times

Getting there

Bus 27 or 87 from Longxiangqiao area, or a 20-minute taxi from the West Lake west shore.

Tips

• Pre-Qingming (before early April) leaf is the vintage; later tea is cheaper and still good
• Farmhouse tea tastings are hospitable but end in a sales pitch — decide your budget before the second cup
• Walk up past the tea museum into the terraces; the village itself is shops, the fields are the sight