Longjing Tea Picking and Tasting Experience

Longjing Tea Picking and Tasting Experience is run by small, family-operated tea grower collectives based directly in Longjing Village, in the hills above West Lake in Hangzhou's Xihu District -- many of these growers have cultivated the same terraced plots for two or more generations. The route covers roughly 2-3 hours: it begins with a walk through the terraced hillside plantations that ring the village, continues to a grower's home or drying shed for a hands-on leaf-picking session during the spring harvest (late March through April), and finishes with a seated tasting of two to four grades of Longjing green tea, from the earliest pre-Qingming (Mingqian) picking to the later, fuller-bodied post-Qingming leaves. The pace favours tea over food: the single savoury element is a small paired snack, typically Longjing shrimp stir-fried with the same tea leaves or a tea-boiled egg, so the experience leans almost entirely toward tasting rather than a multi-course meal. What's included is the guided walk, the picking activity when in season, the tasting flight, and the paired snack; transport to and from central Hangzhou, hotel pickup, and any tea purchased to take home are not included and are arranged separately. Outside the spring harvest window the picking component is not available, though tastings run year-round. Groups are kept small, typically under a dozen visitors, with guides speaking Mandarin and conversational English; the pace is unhurried and suited to most fitness levels, though the terraced paths involve some uneven ground and a gentle incline. Because the tasting menu is fixed around a single savoury snack, dietary substitutions are limited -- visitors with shellfish allergies should ask in advance about swapping the Longjing shrimp for the tea-boiled egg alternative.