In-depth Tea Tour: Visit Tea Farms, Taste Longjing & Meet Locals

It was a good tour, if you have limited time in Hangzhou, this tour offers you the west lake cruise, tea museum, tea plantation and walking around the Hefang street all in one day. The guide is good, apart from the background information about the different places, he gave us information e.g. about the story of the person 5000 year ago who first named a word relating to tea which later became the word as 'Tea'. The stories like this is entertaining. The guide shows us an old ¥1 paper money with the picture of one of the landmark of west lake. So you can compare the picture on the bank notes and what you see in west lake. The tea museum is good, apart from learning about the history and processing of tea, you can participate a test of your knowledge and recognition of the different of frangance, aroma and pungent of tea, other fruits and foods etc. The imperial tea plantation where Longjing tea originated from, the dragon well, telling us the history behind. Showing us how to use the rod to stir the water in the well to create a wave looking like a dragon swimming in the well. Also, show us pictures of other interesting places to visit in hangzhou, this is useful for visitors, if they have more time in Hangzhou or something to look forward to in future visit. Driver have good knowledge about the tea plantation area, there are different type of Longjing tea, they are grown in different places in the same area. The different between the different grade of Longjing tea

Grace, thank you for everything. We honestly had the perfect day because of her. From all the knowledge she has, to how thoughtful she is, she really made our day special. We also enjoyed the tea museum very much, the boat ride, and also the tea tasting, and most of all the short hike to the tea farm. The area is beautiful. Grace speaks great English and we learned a lot about the Chinese culture, and she was also eager to learn about ours. We had a wonderful day together, and we appreciate the tokens she gave us as well. Definitely would recommend to anyone interested in tea, but also if you want to explore and enjoy the Huangzhou area with a wonderful local. Thank you Grace!

We had a wonderful experience going to Hangzhou to learn about tea! Your Way was very helpful in planning our trip, working with our limited time available and letting us choose to see what was most important to us. They responded very well to my emails and questions. We really wanted to focus on the tea production, visiting the tea museum, and visiting the tea plantation. Our guide for the day was super. Sha Shen met us as we exiting the train, was very informative all day, and we really enjoyed her company. Her English was wonderful. My only disappointment was the tea tasting. I asked for a tea tasting, expecting the opportunity to taste different teas to understand the differences in the types of teas. The tea tasting we experienced was tasting one tea, following by a heavy sales pitch. But it was a super day trip from Shanghai and allowed us to glimpse an amazing countryside and a rich cultural tradition.

This was an excellent tour. It was not your typical cheesy tourist experience. Ivy my guide had a keen interest and knowledge of tea culture. The trip to the museum was outstanding. The choice f villages was great- beautiful towns lived by the Chinese, but not over the top touristy. Choice of meal was great. One of my next lunches in China, everything garden fresh. Tea plantation visit was beautiful, educational, and delicious. Shopping options were tasteful and with an eye toward local artisans. Highly recommended.

We had an excellent day with our tour guide Bonnie, she arranged the tour very well for us and so did the driver.

I had the most wonderful time with Bonnie on our tour! Our 3 week stay in China was filled with mostly winging things and making last second decisions so Bonnie and her given tour was such a fresh breath of air! We took a cruise on a boat while Bonnie told us stories about Westlake. We learned about the art of tea making and visited a beautiful museum. Lunch was great and it didn't feel like we were on a tour at all and I mean that in the best way! Bonnie was always by our side giving us the low-down as we strolled and stopped to pick some tea ourselves and learned how to spot the different kinds of tea. We loved the douli so much that Bonnie got a couple of them so we could take some pictures. She was sweet and let us take a bunch of pics and didn't rush us. All in all if you're going to be in the area you MUST take this tour!

We booked this tour as first timers in Hangzhou. The tour took a full day and hit all major scenic tourist attractions. Our tour guide was David. He was terrific! He was knowledgeable, funny, relaxed, organised and speaks perfect English! He brought us around Hangzhou at a pace that suited us & he answered all our questions. I would highly recommend this tour experience, and especially David as a guide.

I am so thankful for all the positive reviews about this tour. I am about to give another thumbs up review for this tour. We are a family of 4 with a 9 year old and a 77 year old elderly. We decided to get a private tour because we felt it was easier to manage in terms of time and places to visit. This was the best decision we made. Our guide, David and the driver, Mr Zhang was so patient with us. David is very knowledgeable and speaks fluent English. Mr Zhang is a very skillful driver. His car was so clean and comfortable. Our day started with a pick up from our hotel. It was snowing on the day of our tour and David reminded us to bring enough clothing to keep us warm. We headed to West Lake and we were away from the huge crowd which was great. My son had his chance to play with snow and we had so many beautiful photo opportunities of the lake (recommended by David). We went on the river cruise on the lake and David shared so many interesting facts about the beautiful structures built around the lake. After that we proceeded to the tea farmer's house for lunch. We found the food home cooked and my son (a picky eater) loved the chicken dish. We all generally enjoyed the meal. The price of the meal was average, I feel. We can always find cheaper food or more expensive food elsewhere but we thought of it as a contribution of the tea farmer community. We were happy with David's recommendation. We had a dining room facing the tea plantation which is not something we see everyday. After lunch, we proceeded to a place to try Long Qing tea. Our guide gave us some very interesting information about the Long Qing tea. The tea tasting was lovely (especially after lunch on a cold snowy day). The lady explained a lot about Long Qing tea, how to brew it and its benefits. They were very clear about their products and pricing but were not pushy. There was a souvenier shop which sold snacks made from Long Qing tea. My son loved the Long Qing Mochi there. After that, we went to see the Long Qing well and headed back to a shopping street called Qinghefang Old Street. After shopping, we were sent back to our hotel and that was the end of our wonderful day trip in Hangzhou. We left Hangzhou with fond memories and David and Mr Zhang was definitely a part of those wonderful memories. I would recommend this tour for any family who wants their own tour as it gives you time to explore at your own pace. Booking a tour with them was very easy and seamless. They responded very fast and were spot on with my queries. This was a wonderful experience from start till end. Thumbs up!!

Three of us booked this day trip to learn more about Chinese tea and culture. David was terrific! He met us at the train station in Hangzhou after we took the bullet train from Shanghai (a fun must!). We avoided any lines at West Lake for a boat tour, he showed us key highlights in the area, then took us for a tea farmer lunch which was fresh and delicious. Despite some rain, we saw the tea museum, met with tea farmers, saw tea plantations and had a great,full but relaxing day. We highly recommend it!

We travelled as a couple from Australia to Hangzhou in September. The weather was overcast and cooler than the previous hot days. David picked us up from our hotel and was immediately very welcoming and insightful. The car was very comfortable and water bottles were welcoming. Our day started at West Lake and the boat ride allows you to feel the vastness of the lake. The haze enhanced the beauty of the skyline. David provided a thorough history of every surrounding aspect throughout the tour. We liked that there were no pushy sales tactics and we were not taken to tourist shops. We felt looked after as David ordered lunch based on his recommendations and an English speaking guide was arranged for the tea ceremony and tea tasting. We could move around at our own pace and David was happy to take photos of us when requested. He even recommended other places to visit while in Hangzhou. Overall it was a perfect day and a tranquil experience. We highly recommend David and China Private Tours. Without the tour we could not have felt the significance of each place we visited. Hangzhou is a beautiful city. Although it is leading in technology, it is good to see the preservation of nature and greenery.

Our private day tour was excellent! David, our tour guide, was incredible knowledgable not only about Hangzhou but all China. Due to the typhoon warning the museum was closed so instead he took us to another tea village and to a bamboo forest, which was great!- We had a delicious lunch at a local farm, it was simple but really good and with a wonderful view. He never sold us anything, we had to ask him where could we buy tea. My husband and I were very impressed with the ART of making tea, so we were looking forward to take some back home. I definitely recommend this tour! Lorena

We had mostly a great day, visiting the lake, tea village and tea museum. We opted for the lunch at the tea farmer. Big mistake! As we arrived we saw the ☹️ :-( from the latest health inspection, that should has been our cue to escape. Yet we decided to try the food. The kitchen was more industrial the homey, the pork and bamboo was reheated from frozen state, the fish and chicken were anything but fresh. To no surprise, nothing we was served was edible, and from the smell it was clear that eating the fish would be a health-hazard. We had to eat elsewhere, and this also cost us an hour of the time with the guide. By all means this is a great tour, just opt for local food at a restaurant and not the "home coocked meal".

Fantastic tour thanks to David. There were a lot of negative things that I'm not gonna go into but, once we got to Hangzhou @12:30PM, it got better. Very simple lunch but everything we had were good. It was a miserable day because of the traffic and the rain. Our tour guide David was awesome. We got to Hangzhou later than usual for this tour but he never rush us. We got tea that we wanted. We would love to go back to Hangzhou again. We'll make sure to stay there for more than a day next time...

Overall was a great tour day for me as someone that really loves to drink tea. Bonnie and the driver came to hotel to pick me up in the morning and from the start Bonnie was quite warm and friendly. Bonnie is local from Hangzhou, so throughout the day she shared many facts and history about Hangzhou and longjing tea. Of course it costs a bit more for a private vs a group tour, but i really enjoyed how it was more personal to what i wanted to see. You don't get the usual "hard sell" and brought to the pre-arranged places where they try to sell to you....to make up for the cheaper group tour costs (this is based on other group tours i've taken in the past). The only time i was really sold anything was at the tea village (cultural tea center i think), but this was ok for me since I intended to buy tea anyways and the tea sample i got there tasted pretty good. This tour is highly recommended in the March and early April time frame as it is during the tea season. I visited the 3rd week of March and got to see the young longjing tea leaves ready for harvest. You'll get to see the farmers out busy picking tea leaves. Best time to buy longjing tea is in late march for the best quality.

<p>Loved this tour. The tea museum is one of a kind! The boat ride on west lake was a nice diversion as well. Touring a tea plantation and seeing the Dragon Well was a highlight. Great tour guide.</p>

Great trip. Started with boat ride on West Lake followed by a comprehensive visit to The Tea Museum of Hangzhou. Great lunch at a local tea farmer's restaurant followed by tea tasting and visit to the famed Dragon Well. Knowlegable and friendly tour guide Nancy made us feel very welcome. Great value for the cost.

This was a most unexpected wonder of China! I had no idea it was going to be so beautiful and so special. We were very lucky with the weather and had the most brilliant tour guide - David. He was a walking encyclopedia of Chinese history and information. We learnt so much and I hoe I remember half of what he told us! Thank you Hangzhou and David for a memorable experience. :)

<p>With Sharon as my very capable guide, I was able to fulfill my longtime goal of visiting the source of Lung Ching or Dragonwell tea. She and her driver provided me with exceptional service as we toured the gardens around West Lake, boated across the lake, visited the tea information center, the National Tea Museum and the legendary Dragon Well. The day began at 9:30 and I was delivered back to my hotel at 4:30. I highly recommend this experience for anyone who has an interest in Chinese tea.</p>

<p>Thank you Nancy for the tour, it was super worthwhile and a great day out. For 2 people it was good value for money, we didn't feel rushed or pressured at any point, we took our time. Nancy was very friendly, considerate of small details and very confident English speaker. </p> <p>The museum was a highlight for me, i can spend many hours in a museum - that could have been improved with some tea tastings.</p> <p>lunch was delicious - please always suggest some popular local dishes so guests don't have to work their way through an all-chinese menu with no background knowledge of local specialities. But let's be honest - the food here is so good that you're unlikely to get something poor even when choosing at random!</p> <p>tasting and buying longjin tea was good - but a bit salesy. It's probably just a personal or cultural difference, but i prefer to not have to decide on the spot if i'm going to buy something expensive, i prefer to sit and think about it privately and then decide. </p> <p>April - March is the time of year to pick tea in Hangzhou, so that wasn't included in our trip. Which is ok for me, i've done that before and after an hour the novelty wears off ahahaha but it would be have been nice to still take a walk through the tea fields. </p> <p>A lot of my comments here are in hindsight, but on the day we were perfectly comfortable and very relaxed from the trip around West Lake, and driving through the beautiful countryside and full of lunch. I came home feeling like i didn't miss out on anything.</p>

<p>Thank you to Bonnie for a wonderful tour! She made the entire experience fantastic because she knows so much about Hangzhou and the history of the area and tea!. The Tea Museum was wonderful, the tea plantation was beautiful, and our meal was really delicious. We had a private tour and did the West Lake boat ride last, and it was a great way to end our day.</p>

Seeing the tea plantations is something we didn't imagine; the work and dedication of those people impressed us so that, after the whole process, a cup of tea would reach us.