Dragon Pearls: One Pearl, One Session
Dragon pearls are one of the most popular forms of pu'er in recent years: a little round ball of tea that makes one session in a gaiwan. There's no prying and no weighing, and it's easy to take a few with you when you go out.
What Are Dragon Pearls?
Dragon pearls are a small-portion, handmade form of compressed pu'er, shaped into balls that usually weigh 5–10 grams each, just right for one brewing session. Both raw and ripe tea can be made into dragon pearls, and there are dragon pearls made from old-tree and single-mountain material too.
The name "dragon pearl" (longzhu) draws on the auspicious image of a dragon spitting out a pearl. Some people call them tea pearls or handmade dragon pearls. It isn't a shape category in the national standard for pu'er but a customary product name; in terms of shape, they can be considered small spherical compressed tea.
How Much Does a Dragon Pearl Weigh?
Dragon pearls on the market commonly come in 5, 6, 7, 8, and 10-gram sizes. The right weight depends on your teaware:
- 5–6 g: suits a small 80–100 ml gaiwan.
- 7–8 g: suits a 110–130 ml gaiwan and is the most common size.
- 10 g: suits a larger teapot, or people who like their tea a bit stronger.
Guyuntang's Bingdao Old Village Dragon Pearls are raw pu'er, 8 grams each, 10 to a bag.
How Dragon Pearls Are Made
Dragon pearls are made roughly like this:
- Weighing: each pearl's weight is measured to spec, for example 8 grams.
- Steaming: the tea is steamed in a small steaming cup until soft and tacky.
- Rolling in cloth: the steamed tea is poured onto a small piece of cloth, and the maker gathers the cloth and quickly spins and rolls it between palm and fingers to form a ball.
- Setting: the ball rests briefly in its cloth to cool and hold its shape.
- Drying: the cloth is opened, and the pearls are laid out on racks to air-dry or dry at low temperature, and only packed once fully dry.
Rolling them by hand one by one isn't fast, which is why dragon pearls usually cost more per gram than large cakes. Some makers also use molds to help press them into balls.
Dragon Pearls vs. Tuocha
| Dragon pearl | Mini tuocha | Tuocha | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shape | Ball | Small bowl | Bowl, hollow on the back |
| Weight | 5–10 g | 3–5 g | 100 g, 250 g |
| How it's made | Rolled by hand in cloth | Pressed in a mold | Kneaded in a cloth bag or pressed in a mold |
| How to use | Brew whole | Brew whole | Needs prying |
Dragon pearls and mini tuocha are both "one piece, one session," so you could say a dragon pearl is a spherical mini tuocha. Because dragon pearls are rolled into balls, their centers are fairly tight, so steep the first two or three infusions a bit longer to let the ball open slowly. Tuocha is introduced in Tuocha: Bowl-Shaped Pu'er and Xiaguan.
Can Dragon Pearls Be Stored?
Yes. Dragon pearls are compressed pu'er, and the storage principles are the same as for any pu'er: clean, ventilated, dark, odor-free, and away from damp and heat. A few tips:
- Keep the bag closed: after opening, fold the bag shut or put the pearls in a clean tea canister or paper box.
- Keep raw and ripe apart: the aged aroma of ripe tea can affect raw tea.
- Keep away from odors: don't store them near the kitchen, perfume, or camphor.
- Long-term storage: dragon pearls are rolled tight, so they change more slowly and steadily than loosely pressed cakes.
More on storing and gifting dragon pearls is in Storing and Gifting Dragon Pearls.
How to Brew Dragon Pearls
Put one 8-gram dragon pearl in a 110–150 ml gaiwan and rinse once for 5–10 seconds with water at 95–100°C. Steep the first infusion about 20–30 seconds, switch to 10–15 seconds once the ball opens, and lengthen gradually from there. Step-by-step instructions are in How to Brew Dragon Pearls: The Rhythm of One Pearl, One Session.
Reading the Material in a Dragon Pearl
As a dragon pearl steeps, the leaves gradually unfurl back to their original form, and you can see how tender and intact the material is: how many buds there are, whether the leaves are whole, and whether there's broken leaf. Because dragon pearls are rolled from whole leaves, the leaves are usually quite intact once opened, which makes them great for practicing reading spent leaves. When Bingdao Old Village Dragon Pearls open up, you can see the thick, plump leaves of the Mengku large-leaf variety.
Who Dragon Pearls Are For
- Beginners: no prying, no weighing, a fixed portion. The easiest way to get started.
- Office workers: take a few to work and brew them in a gaiwan or a thermos.
- Travelers: small and crush-proof, easy to carry in a bag.
- Gift-giving: packed one by one in a box, they look good and are practical.
If you want more freedom to adjust strength, or to brew in large quantities, loose tea and cakes may suit you better. Choose according to your own habits.
FAQ
What are dragon pearls? Small balls of compressed pu'er: one session's worth of tea steamed, rolled into a ball in cloth, then set and dried.
How much does one dragon pearl weigh? Commonly 5–10 grams, most often 7–8 grams. Guyuntang's Bingdao Old Village Dragon Pearls are 8 grams each.
What's the difference between dragon pearls and tuocha? Dragon pearls are balls rolled by hand; mini tuocha are small bowls pressed in a mold. Both are one piece per session, while full-size tuocha need prying.
Can dragon pearls be stored for a long time? Yes. The storage principles are the same as for any pu'er, and because they're rolled tight, they change more slowly and steadily.