Dragonwell, #43

Notes of lily bulb, quinoa, and white sesame.

Green tea from Zhejiang, China・April 2023・龍井, #43・Organic

From the garden of our White Dragonwell comes a modern iteration of this classic green tea: Dragonwell #43. Bred to produce better flavor, more appealing leaves, and increased adaptability to climatic extremes, #43 is the current default variety for modern Dragonwell.

We’ve included it in this year’s collection not only for its rich, robust flavor but also as a counterpoint to our own White Dragonwell. Together, the two teas display the range that can be achieved through selective breeding and cultivation.

Among the different cultivars used to craft Dragonwell, #43’s mother plant, jiukeng, is one of the oldest, only predated by an even lesser-known varietal called wuniaozao. From these early cultivars, tea growers began to isolate traits that produce a more flavorful, hearty tea. And with each successive generation, #43 has become the dominant variety: so much so that today, it has rendered other varieties nearly obsolete.

Our Dragonwell garden is remote, accessible via a single path that meanders through rows of loosely clustered tea plants. Limited infrastructure results in the plants being effectively dry-farmed, leaving the plants unwatered and unsprayed, relying solely on the microclimate of the hillside garden to provide for the plants. These high, misty elevations and slow growth rates produce the sweet and complex leaf buds that comprise this tea.

The finished result is a rounded, quintessential Dragonwell profile with notes both toasted and creamy.

Brew: 3 grams・150 ml・185° F・1 min