Spreading out the Longjing tea leaves for further processing. [Photo provided to China Daily]

A tea with such high status has legends and tales around it worthy of a TV series. Firstly, there really is a "dragon well", a small pool of spring water located at the northwest foot of Wengjia Mountain to the west of West Lake in Hangzhou. According to a local legend, which is, of course, unconfirmed, the pool is believed to have a dragon in it. And the said dragon can access the sea through, presto, a subterranean channel. That's also where the Dragon Well village and the Dragon Well temple are situated.