Meng Ding is the name of a particular mountain and area in the Mingshan district of Ya’An City, Sichuan (Western China, close to Tibet). Gan Lu means sweet dew. So.. all together Meng Ding Gan Lu is the ‘sweet dew of Mt. Meng’ a green tea which skirts the fine lines between savory and sweet; wet and dry.
This is a wonderful example of high quality green tea from off the beaten path. If you’re going to compare prices of tea against each other I think it’s worth considering that after a certain point its not about quality any more. The price quickly inflates based on its perceived worthiness due to fame. Meng Ding tea has been famous since the inception of tea as a beverage during the Tang Dynasty. By international standards though, I would say hardly anyone knows about it.
Sichuan is one of the provinces in China where tea really ‘began’. Sichuan and Yunnan are areas within the geographic region from which the tea bush originates (shared by Nepal, Myanmar, North Eastern India, Laos, Northern Thailand, Northern Vietnam) Tea producers in the area have been excellent at its production circa 800 A.D.
There were 2 kingdoms in the area between 770-221 BC called Ba and Shu. Meng Ding is just a bit Southwest from where the kingdom of Shu was.
In those days tea was already present in the area, its just unlikely that it was consumed as an infused liquid drink. It cant be proven that tea as we know it today existed before Lu Yu wrote his ‘Classic of Tea’ in the year 762. In texts before ‘the classic of tea’ tea was probably consumed and recorded but its name was vague and shared with other herbs which grew in those areas. Lu Yu was the one to establish that this particular herb and no other is ‘cha’
It’s mentioned in the famous ‘Ode to Sencha’ written by the Japanese monk Gettan Douchou in his book ‘Manuscript of a Rock dweller’ in 1703 in which he states
“Ever Since Lu Yu loved tea,
It was planted everywhere throughout the Tang Dynasty.
Meng Ding and Jiangxi are the two best varieties of tea;
Wuyi and Guzhu are also famous”
I’ll have 2 versions of Meng Ding Gan Lu this year.
1) This ‘Super Grading’ version
2) Something ‘Standard’ by comparison
What is a super grading based on? Early picking. This one was picked March 13th. What can you expect from such a young tea? A lot of ‘cha qi’ or ‘tea energy’, a definite lack of bitterness, astringency, and sourness, and in regards to this particular tea, a strong Spring scent and pleasant sweetness. After drinking a few cups, an aroma similar to cotton candy will appear out of nowhere. It stays on the lips. I guess its how our saliva mixes with the compounds in the tea. Pretty cool. The super grading is expensive though, definitely geared towards people who want that extra few percentage points of quality and don’t mind to spend a lot more money to get it. That’s not to say it isn’t worth it — frankly, not a lot of tea of this calibre is floating around, not in my city at least. Trying a tea of this quality is necessary for someone to understand why there are die hard green tea drinkers.
