Mengding Ganlu Tea
Sweet Dew's Thousand Year Journey
Light, sweet and floral, Mengding Ganlu tea is the most poetic of Chinese green tea.
I was surprised when HQ said one day:
"Julian, I am sorry for my previous arrogance. I was silly enough to think that nothing comes close to my Tribute Dragon Well tea. But this tea I have just tasted - it is really good, so amazingly sweet and refreshing."
This tea was none other than the highest grade tea from the Meng Mountain - Ganlu tea - which means Sweet Dew.
What's so special about it?
Her name concealed the reasons for her special quality. Few people know this, but there are three reasons for her name: Mengding Ganlu.
1,000-Year Tribute History
According to several historical annals, the origin of Mengding tea can be traced back to a monk called Ganlu Puhui in 50 B.C., who was said to grow seven tea plants in the Mountain.
The tea plants produced only a tiny quantity of leaves each year, but were famous for being able to cure every illness.
For more than 1,000 years from Tang to Qing dynasty, she achieved an impossible record. Every year, she was chosen as one of the tribute teas for the emperor's consumption.
No wonder the Hong Kong newspaper Dagongbao ran the headline a few years ago:
"Yesterday she was in the Imperial Palace, today she is with us common people!"
Sweet Dew
The word Ganlu means Sweet Dew. Who can forget the mesmerizing sweet flavors of hers?
They are the culmination of two things: stringent harvesting and highly complex handcrafting process.
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One bud with one adjacent leaf covered by downy white hairs: You can see this with our AAA grade.
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Three-stage rolling: Most green teas by applying high heat (to halt the oxidation process) and rolling. For the Ganlu tea, this process is repeated three times.
Her special qualities explains why she is the beverage of choice for Chinese Foreign Embassy during important country functions.
Meng Mountain
Pay a visit to Sichuan province of Southwestern China, and you will come across what's perhaps the most famous tea saying in China:
Pure water of Yangze River. Tea leaves of Mengding Mountain.
In two lines, it captures the locations of two tea paradises: Zhongleng Spring (中泠泉) and Meng Mountain.
Zhongleng Spring has the tastiest spring water in China. Meng Mountain has so many fine teas, of which the Ganlu is the crown jewel.
With an altitude of 1,450 meters, the west side of Meng Mountain borders the Tibetan Plateau. It is here that the Mengding Ganlu tea grows. Local climate is very misty, and the County of Yaan is popularly known as the "Rain City".
An AAAA graded tourist area, the Mountain is the winners of many awards.
A reputed Oxygen Warehouse, the mountain is 90% forested. A 1999 study determined that she contains the highest concentration of negative oxygen ions of the entire China.
The Mountain is also dotted with countless waterfalls, highly enriched spring water, reservoirs and temples.
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AAA Grade (March 2011) - 50 grams
To your right you can see a picture of this AAA grade, coming from the first harvest of Meng Mountain.
In term of look and taste, she reminded me greatly of Biluochun tea with her very fine tea buds. Due to the large surface area, the best result is achieved by steeping in medium temperature water for 5 minutes or more.
She is light, sweet and floral, a bit like mountain dew. And when I get it right - a wonderful long aftertaste.
This is probably the only tea I would drink in the evening. Soothing and refreshing, she would lift my spirit and brighten my eyes after a long hard day's in the office.
The most inspiring of Chinese tea, she is associated with many famous poems My favorite being Wentong of Song dynasty:
Mengding tea. Essence of the clouds.
Sleeping devils gone. Energy and concentration.
Coolness in the bones. Wings to the heaven.
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| AAA Grade - Good quality and value for money! |
We love the tea! Your Mengding Ganlu is of very good quality and value for money. We know that because we have high expectations and are spoilt for good tea!
We have tried many different tea (green tea, oolong tea, and pu'er tea) and bought tea from China and Singapore; whenever we get to visit these places.
We have ordered more Mengding Ganlu which we are going to share with our friends here.
Hopefully, they will like it too. In the future, we hope to try your Dragon Well tea which has been our favourite. Right now, we are just going to enjoy the one we have bought!
| AAA Grade - Brewing perfected! |
I think I perfected Mengding Ganlu brewing 100 cc of filtered tap water to 400 cc of boiling water, add to a thimbleful of leaves, then another 1/4 ratio of 500 cc water.
I get a perfect pot everytime, no more fish cooked with rubber tire smell due to too much tea leaves.
I am glad, as I cannot afford future expensive tea purchases, Mengding Ganlu is much more affordable.
My cup is the one I use for measuring, it has measuring lines and is tempered - it is a 2 cup capacity Pyrex mixing cup.
My teapot is a Primula 4 cup (thank Amazon for the research material), future one will be a Bodum Assam 4 cup.
Silver Needle is also way more palatable, now that I started with only a small amount of tea.
Dragon Well is still best with a small amount of tea in a small amount of water.
| AAA Grade - A personal favourite! |
I have been a Darjeeling and Taiwanese Oolong tea drinker since I was 16 and I am 20 now. Its the first time that I have really tried premium chinese whole leaf green tea and I would rate it on par with the Moli Jinzhen and slightly better than Huangshan maofeng A grade (which i would rate 3/5).
| AAA Grade - Terrific flavor! |
I would rate this tea 4 out of 5 due to its strength. The flavor was terrific but I like tea very strong and needed to add more to my cups. I look forward to trying different teas from "amazing green tea " which claim to be strong tasting.
My family and I enjoyed the tea very much. I look forward to purchasing more.
| AAA Grade - So soothing |
This Mengding Ganlu is my favourite of the 4 green teas in the last order.
It is rather 'easy' to brew. I don't measure temperature. When the water starts to hiss in the kettle, I just take it off the stove/off the electricity and pour into a glass.
The clear sweetness is very easy to taste in this tea. That simple subtle sweetness is so soothing. Definitely a 5 out of 5.
| AAA Grade - Delicate and sweet |
I would like to rate four stars. Awesome taste, but with almost identic taste to Huangshan Maofeng, only more delicate and sweet flavor.
| AAA Grade - Cannot be without it... |
You could say that this tea was a surprise as it seemed quite different than the other green teas I have tasted, a very interesting taste which I still wonder how much I actually appreciate.
I find it characteristic and definite, light and refreshing, and I imagine that after some time when I get used to it, I cannot be without it...
| AAA Grade - Awesome - Can't ask for more |
I'm so impressed by the quality of your tea.
The Baihao Yinzhen is the best I've ever had! The buds are crazy beautiful and BIG.
The Huangshan Maofeng and Mengding Ganlu are new to me, and I'm having a lot of fun experimenting with them.
The teas are so fresh I'm easily getting 4 good infusions.
My order arrived quickly and everything was packaged very well. I also appreciate your brewing suggestions; they're very helpful.
Thank you for what you do.
| AAA Grade - Probably 4 out of 5 |
Of Mengding Ganlu I have quite a little experience, but I noted that
this one was not as sweet as another batch I have tasted this year,
but both had this extraordinary "meta-flavour", odd tingling sensation
on the tongue after the liquid has passed.
(I have experienced this same effect with some fine Huangshan Maofengs, I think Guo bin li cha Maofeng had it the most prominently.)
It would probably be 4/5 (I hoped for a bit more sweetness
but this year seemed to lean more towars the nutty/spice/dry flavour).
| AAA Grade - I would rate it 5! |
The Mengding Ganlu is tricky to brew, but your brewing instructions were helpful, and when brewed well it is so rich, creamy, subtle and poetic at the same time.
| AAA Grade - Incredible experience |
I've been enjoying the tea very much.
I asked my co-worker if she wanted to stay for a cup of tea and she did. I made us a pot of the Mengding Ganlu tea. Both of us were simply amazed with it's beautiful aroma sweet taste.
My co-worker who has never tasted this quality of tea was taken aback with the experience and so was I. It's incredible how a great cup of tea can make a difficult day better and a good day even more so. Thank you so much for making this wonderful tea available.
I will look to you as my primary source for tea from now on.
Amongst all the teas I sell, Mengding Ganlu performs best in low temperature. It is hard to understand why. The Biluochun tea has even finer tea buds! All I can think of is that she has a very light body and just needed to be treated be more care!
Boiling water would not cause bitterness, but can result in greater astringency. You are also less likely to get the floral aroma and long aftertaste.
Brew her the same way as Biluochun tea using hot water of 160 Fahrenheit (70 degree Celsius). She comes best with low temparature and long infusions.
For further information, read Biluochun Tea (Piluochun) - Further Guide.
References
Photos of Meng mountain have been obtained from Meng Mountain Official Site. http://ymsta.gov.cn/2009/0330/244.html
