Meng Ding Tea

The Si Chuan Basin in Si Chuan Province in the southwest part of China, has very fertile soil, plenty of rain and warm temperature which is ideal for many kinds of plants. This is probably the most popular and prosperous part of the country for many dynasties. That is why the Si Chuan Basin is also called "the State of Heaven". One of the most important places in the tea history of Sichuan and probably the whole of China is Mount Meng Shan. It is northwest of the small town of Meng Ding, just on the rim of the Si Chuan Basin.

Meng Ding tea is a famous mountain tea in China, belong to tender green tea. The rain season here is as long as nine months each year, the temperature is relatively cool on the slope of the mountain. This environment is ideal for the mountain tea. As early as in the western Han Dynasty (202 BC - 24 AD), a farmer called Wu Li Zhen discovered a special tea species amid the foggy peaks on the Mount. Meng Ding. His is believed to be the founder of the Meng Ding tea gardens. in Tang Dynasty the best  tea gardens were assigned to be the royal garden. Every year around the Qing Ming Festival (April 5), the local governor would be dress in ceremonial attires, offering sacrifices to gods, and asked the Buddhist priests to worship the tea trees, then picked up 365 pieces of tea leaves. When processing the leave, the Buddhist monks would be praying around. These 365 pieces leaves will be called the "holy tea" and reserved in two silver bottles. It would be used in the Emperor's sacrificial ceremony to their ancestors. The local officers would also pick some other leaves, process them to the tea product, then reserve the tea in another 18 tin bottles, which was called the "ordinary tea" or "secondary tea" for the royal family's daily life. This traditional had been kept from the Tang Dynasty (618-906 AD) to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 AD) for more than a thousand years.

There are also some different brand names of the Meng Ding tea, such as Huang Ya (yellow bud), Shi Cha (stone tea), Yu Ye (jade leaf), Yin Zhen (silver needle), and the best and most famous of them is probably Gan Lu (Honey Dew). The bud of the Gan Lu is covered by silver thin hair, with a yellowish-green color for the leaves. The taste has a special sweet flavor, which make the Meng Ding tea distinguishable from other types of tea.

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