Great Green Tea: Half from West Lake, Half from Thousand Island Lake

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 When people think of China’s finest green tea, they picture West Lake in Hangzhou—the villages of Longjing and Meijiawu, Emperor Qianlong’s legendary “Eighteen Imperial Tea Bushes,” and a cup of flat, jade-green leaves releasing delicate chestnut notes. And they’re not wrong. West Lake Longjing is indeed one of China’s most iconic teas. But few know that 150 kilometers southwest of Hangzhou, amid the emerald waters of Thousand Island Lake, lies another chapter of tea history—one far older, equally profound, and unjustly overlooked. Here, during the Tang Dynasty (618–907 CE), tribute tea known as Jiukeng Maojian was sent to the imperial court. Lu Yu, the Sage of Tea, recorded its origin in his Classic of Tea (Cha Jing). Centuries later, seeds from this very land would travel to Japan, Kenya, and beyond, shaping green tea across continents. Today, protected as a Class-I national water source, this region bans chemical pesticides entirely—yielding tea of unmatched purity and freshnes...

The pruned new tea is growing well



Many people do not understand, why should a good tea tree be pruned?
1. Pruning tea leaves in summer to remove apical dominance and accumulate nutrients for the development of axillary buds

Right now, around the Dragon Boat Festival of Grain Rain, during this period, the growth of tea leaves is fast, and before they can accumulate enough nutrients, they are no longer the tea leaves of this time. Tea trees are pruned regularly every year because the tea leaves grow densely.

Pruning the tea tree is to prevent the tea tree from growing up. For example, when we grow flowers, roses, etc., after flowering and pruning, we can let the axillary buds germinate, so that the branches will be full.

The same is true for tea. The tea trees that have been planted for more than ten or twenty years are all so tall. This is because artificially pruned every summer in summer, every year, the tea will grow lush every year.

This is also one of the reasons for the high yield and high quality of tea every year, so every year, a large number of tea farmers will see a large number of tea farmers pruning their own tea trees, or ask someone to help prune them.

Second, prune the tea trees, let the light fully maintain the circulation of the air

Tea trees grow densely after spring every year. After the spring tea is picked, the tea trees are pruned in large quantities. This pruning is to allow the tea tree to maintain air circulation and allow the tea tree to absorb nutrients for photosynthesis.

Tea trees should be pruned so that they can grow more vigorous new leaves in the coming year. High yield of tea trees is required, and sufficient air and light are the basis for the lush growth of tea leaves.

Third, prune tea trees, remove old leaves and promote the growth of new leaves

Tea tree pruning, you can prune off the old leaves, because if there are too many old leaves, it is difficult for new leaves to grow. Of course, the old leaves of this tea tree cannot be cut off, but some must be left, so that photosynthesis can be carried out to promote the growth of new leaves.

Good tea leaves must be shaped and pruned, which can reasonably control the height of the tea tree, promote branching, and accelerate the lateral expansion of tea leaves. The purpose is to make the branch structure of the tea tree reasonable, make the backbone branches thicker, and lay a solid foundation for its good growth.

Therefore, in order to have a good harvest of tea year after year, tea farmers would rather face the scorching sun and race against time to prune the tea trees.

Pruning tea trees in summer

After pruning the tea tree, the tea leaves will be larger and of good quality. If you don’t do this, the newly grown tea leaves will be small and have a bitter taste, which is very unpleasant. Therefore, tea trees should be pruned regularly to keep the tea trees growing new leaves.

It is not easy to pick tea, and it is not easy to prune tea trees. Therefore, tea farmers will not be lazy and will prune the tea trees regularly, just for the good harvest in the coming year.


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