Would You Pay 14,000 Dollars for A Handful of Green Tea?
Media release by Wenxuecity - 2007-03-23

The 2007 green tea spring harvest is in the town! A Chinese man pays 14,000 dollars for just 200 grams of tea leaves.

According to the Chinese state news agency Xinhua, a Chinese man recently pay 14,000 US dollars for just 200 grams of West Lake Dragonwell Tea.

Dragonwell tea is also known as longjing or Lung Ching tea.

The auction takes place in the International Tea Expo Exhibition held in West Lake, or Xi Hu, in Zhejiang Province, China.

West Lake is a renowned tourist attraction 180 kilometres away from Shanghai.

The Dragonwell tea produced in West Lake is the most esteemed of all Chinese green tea. It is only harvested once a year - in spring. The earlier the harvest, the higher the quality.

Traditionally, this is the time of the year when the highest grade green tea is harvested and sold.

Ten Dragonwell tea experts show off their frying skills in the special occasion.

According to Mr Ge Songde, they are the kings of the special Dragonwell tea frying skill.

After the tea is picked, it is processed in the same day by frying in a wok.

Frying is done entirely by hands in a hot wok using ten distinct hand movements.

Aged between 35 to 59. the ten frying experts have won the Dragonwell tea frying competition since 1997.

Amazingly, the ten champions can only fry 500 grams of high grade Dragonwell tea in a single day.

According to a local expert, one kilogram of Dragonwell tea costs 5 Yuans in the 70s. Now, one kilogram of high grade Dragonwell tea costs 6,000 Yuans or 800 US dollars.

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