For a first cup: use 250 mL of water at 185°F (85°C), with 2 g of standard Dragon Well or 1.5 g of Premium. The merchant gives both a 3–5 minute cup-method range. Start at 3 minutes, separate the leaves from the drink, taste, then change one variable in the next brew if needed.
This guide follows the two current merchant product pages, checked October 3, 2026. It is not a tested universal recipe for all Long Jing. Check your pack’s identity and instructions if its harvest or formulation differs. The standard review and Premium review explain what their customers liked and disliked.
Your next cup
Choose your tea and method. Scale the leaf to your water, then use the timer for the first infusion.
Timing starts after any rinse. Scale calculations preserve the documented leaf-to-water ratio; taste and adjust one variable at a time.
A cup or a short-infusion session?
Choose a cup for a simple first trial
Use the dose for your exact tea, an infuser or pot, and a three-minute starting steep. This keeps the first attempt easy to repeat.
Choose gongfu for several short pours
Use the separate 4 g / 110 mL recipe and its infusion sequence. Choose this method when you have time to pour off and taste each cup.
| Method | Standard Dragon Well | Premium Dragon Well |
|---|---|---|
| Cup: leaf / water | 2 g / 250 mL | 1.5 g / 250 mL |
| Cup: temperature / time | 185°F (85°C), 3–5 min | 185°F (85°C), 3–5 min |
| Gongfu: leaf / water | 4 g / 110 mL | 4 g / 110 mL |
| Gongfu: temperature | 185°F (85°C) | 185°F (85°C) |
| After the rinse | 15, 15, 20, 25, 35, 50 seconds | 15, 25, 40, 60, 90 seconds |
These are the documented recipes from standard and Premium. The gongfu recipe uses much more leaf for the water volume, so its short timing matters. Do not use 4 g in 110 mL and then apply the cup method’s three-minute steep.
Make a repeatable first cup
- Identify the tea. Check whether your pack is standard or Premium before measuring the leaf. A teaspoon estimate is less useful for comparing the two than the merchant’s gram quantities.
- Measure leaf and water. Use the matching dose above and 250 mL of water. An infuser or pot that lets you separate the leaves makes the endpoint easier to repeat.
- Set the temperature and timer. Heat to 185°F (85°C), add the water and time three minutes for the first attempt, within the seller’s range.
- End the steep before evaluating. Remove the infuser or pour the liquor away from the leaves. Taste when comfortable to drink and note whether it is too weak, pleasantly balanced or too strong for you.
- Record one change for next time. Keep the tea, water volume and method the same while adjusting one setting. This lets you tell which change helped.
Use the gongfu sequence separately
For the merchant’s gongfu method, use 4 g in a 110 mL gaiwan at 185°F (85°C). Both listings indicate a rinse before the numbered drinking infusions. Premium specifies roughly five seconds for that rinse; the standard listing does not give a duration, so do not present five seconds as its published instruction.
Follow the sequence for your listing and pour off each infusion before starting the next. Stop when the cup is no longer enjoyable to you. The printed number of steeps is a brewing schedule, not a promise that each will have equal strength. If you are new to pouring a gaiwan, the cup method is a straightforward way to begin without learning a second technique at the same time.
If the result disappoints
Keep a short note of leaf weight, water and time. Changing everything together makes the result harder to understand.
| In your cup | Your next adjustment |
|---|---|
| Too strong or bitter | first confirm that you did not combine gongfu leaf quantities with cup-method timing. If the recipe was correct, try a modestly lower leaf dose on the next attempt while keeping the other settings fixed. This is an editorial adjustment to explore preference, not a replacement manufacturer recipe. |
| Too weak | check your measured dose and water volume. For the cup method, try a longer steep within the documented 3–5 minute range before changing several settings together. |
| Pleasant at first, disappointing later | shorten your expectations rather than treating an infusion count as a target. Customer accounts describe both rewarding later cups and sessions that fade sooner. |
| Still unpleasant after measured adjustments | stop trying to force the cup. Check the pack’s harvest and storage instructions, and consider whether the flavor style suits you. Changing from standard to Premium is not guaranteed to fix a palate mismatch. |
Customer feedback includes better results with less leaf, but also bitterness that persisted despite brewing changes. This supports measured adjustments rather than a universal lower-temperature cure. If you are still choosing which leaf to buy, the standard versus Premium comparison separates that decision from brewing technique.
