Longjing Tea Plantation Tour Hangzhou: Private Half-Day Tasting

Tea leaf roasting and brewing to judge grade by leaf shape and color

A private half-day tour of Hangzhou's Longjing tea region combines a walk through terraced plantations, a visit to a tea farmer's home to watch hand-roasting and taste the family's own brew, lunch at another farmer's home in the 600-year-old village of Meijiawu, and a stop at the China National Tea Museum to see how Longjing fits among China's famous teas. Your English-speaking guide picks you up from your hotel or Hangzhou East Railway Station. Late March through April, you can join the spring harvest and pick leaves alongside the farmers. The Jiuxi Nine Creeks hike through the tea terraces is optional and adjustable on the day.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Longjing Tea Plantation and Village

• Walk terraced hillsides of Longjing Village
• Visit tea farmer's home and watch roasting
• Taste farmer's own Longjing tea
• Stop at China National Tea Museum
• Visit Meijiawu tea village and lunch
• Optional Jiuxi trail hike through tea terraces

The experience

The tour starts in Longjing Village, where you walk the terraced hillsides between rows of tea bushes and follow plantation paths with views across the valley. Inside a tea farmer's home, you watch leaves being hand-roasted in heated woks and sorted into grades: the prized pre-Qingming spring pick at the top. You sit down to taste the family's own Longjing brewed in a glass, learning to judge it by leaf shape, color, and aroma while your guide translates as you talk with the family about a growing season that has shaped this village for over a thousand years.

From there you continue to Meijiawu, a 600-year-old tea village tucked into the hills west of West Lake, where nearly every family still grows and processes Longjing. You wander the village lanes past tea-drying yards and family workshops, then sit down to lunch at a tea farmer's home: home-style Hangzhou dishes including Longjing shrimp, the local classic cooked with fresh tea leaves, served while you overlook the plantations. Your guide explains how the village's tea economy works today, from the spring harvest to the tea-house trade.

A short stop at the China National Tea Museum (the country's only national museum devoted to tea, set among its own tea gardens on Longjing Road) puts the tasting in context. The galleries trace tea's story from ancient medicine to global trade, showing the six tea families, brewing styles across the dynasties, and a fine collection of historic teaware. Your guide points you to the exhibits that explain what you've just seen in the fields: how green, oolong, and black teas all diverge from the same leaf, and where Longjing sits among them.

If you choose the optional Jiuxi Nine Creeks hike, you follow the trail (named for the scenic spot celebrated around West Lake), gently downhill through tea terraces and shaded forest for about 90 minutes at a relaxed pace, crossing the stream on stepping stones as it winds toward the Qiantang River. Tea fields line the slopes nearly the whole way, and you'll see far fewer visitors than at the lakeside. You can decide to add it when you book or on the day. Your guide adjusts the timing around it.

What’s included

• Expert English-speaking guide.
• private vehicle with pickup from your hotel or Hangzhou East Railway Station.
• entry to all sites (Longjing Village, Meijiawu, China National Tea Museum).
• tea tasting at a farmer's home with the family's own Longjing brewed in a glass.
• lunch at a tea farmer's family home in Meijiawu with home-style Hangzhou dishes including Longjing shrimp cooked with fresh tea leaves.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery day

Book up to10h before

AgesAdult (18 to 59 years) · Senior (60 and older) · Youth (11 to 17 years) · Child (4 to 10 years) · Infant (under 4)

GroupPrivate

Live guideEnglish

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.You can choose from 6 pickup points.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund.

Prices and times updated 3 days ago

Good to know

Moderate physical effortStroller-friendlyPublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Brivience

Is this one for you?Your guide speaks English throughout, so you follow the commentary and the farmer's explanations without translation delays. The half-day length suits travelers arriving from Shanghai by bullet train or those who want to explore Hangzhou's tea culture without a full-day commitment, and the optional Jiuxi hike lets you add a gentle walk through the plantations if you have the time and energy on the day.

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Top questions

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Youth (11 to 17 years); Child (4 to 10 years); Infant (under 4).

What happens if it rains?

It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund. Free cancellation up to 24 h before the start.

What does hand-roasting Longjing tea look like, and how can I tell a good leaf from a poor one?

Inside the tea farmer's home, you watch leaves being hand-roasted in heated woks and sorted into grades by hand. The prized pre-Qingming spring pick (picked before the Qingming festival in early April) commands the highest price because the leaves are smaller and more tender. When you taste the family's own Longjing brewed in a glass, your guide teaches you to judge it by leaf shape, color, and aroma, and the farmer explains how a growing season shaped by the valley's climate and soil produces the differences you taste.

Is Longjing shrimp actually cooked with tea leaves?

Yes. Longjing shrimp is the local Hangzhou classic, and at lunch in Meijiawu you eat it cooked with fresh Longjing leaves, served alongside other home-style Hangzhou dishes at a tea farmer's family table overlooking the plantations.

Can I pick tea leaves myself during the spring harvest?

From late March through April, you can join the spring harvest and pick leaves alongside the farmers in Longjing Village. The timing depends on when the pre-Qingming leaves emerge, so confirm with your guide when you book or ask on the day whether the harvest is underway.

What is the Jiuxi Nine Creeks hike, and how hard is it?

The Jiuxi trail is one of West Lake's celebrated scenic spots, named for the nine creeks that wind through it. The hike follows the trail gently downhill through tea terraces and shaded forest for about 90 minutes at a relaxed pace, crossing the stream on stepping stones as it winds toward the Qiantang River. Tea fields line the slopes nearly the whole way, and it draws far fewer visitors than the lakeside. You can choose to add it when you book or on the day. Your guide adjusts the timing around it.

How does the China National Tea Museum explain what I've just seen in the tea fields?

The museum is the country's only national museum devoted to tea, set among its own tea gardens on Longjing Road. The galleries trace tea's story from ancient medicine to global trade, showing the six tea families, brewing styles across the dynasties, and a fine collection of historic teaware. Your guide points you to the exhibits that explain how green, oolong, and black teas all diverge from the same leaf, and where Longjing sits among China's famous teas: putting the tasting and the hand-roasting you've just witnessed into the larger picture.

What if I'm arriving from Shanghai by bullet train? Does this tour work for that?

Yes. Pickup is included from Hangzhou East Railway Station, so if you arrive by bullet train from Shanghai, your guide meets you there and the half-day tour fits easily into the rest of your day in Hangzhou.