About
High Mountain (above 800 meters) Green Tea from Ya’an, Mengding Mountain, Sichuan, China.
Utilizes the traditional Sichuan style "Flower Firing" technique, passed down through the family for over 50 years.
Mengding Ganlu is a famous green tea from Ya’an, Sichuan. As a standalone green tea, its appearance is usually tender, curled, and covered with fine white hairs.
In Chinese tea classification, Huangya, Ganlu and Shihua are not names of cultivars but name for specific processing styles of Mengding green tea, they are both using local Sichuan group-species cultivars.
Ganlu (甘露)
- Appearance: Slender, tender buds with fine white hairs; slightly curly and delicate, with a bright green sheen.
- Taste: Fresh, brisk, and sweet with a soft mouthfeel; the liquor is clear and bright, leaving a lingering sweetness.
Shihua (石花)
- Appearance: Slightly larger and more robust buds and leaves; straighter and sturdier in shape, less curly than Ganlu.
- Taste: Thicker and more mellow, with a fuller body and chestnut-like fragrance; more resistant to multiple infusions.
Our tea base is between Ganlu and Shihua, for a balanced taste, texture and more resistant for brewing. When the green tea is used as the tea base (cha pi) for jasmine tea, the final product can also look a bit different from the original green tea, as it comes from enhanced processing:
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Multiple scenting rounds
Jasmine tea is scented with fresh jasmine blossoms through repeated cycles of piling and baking. This requires the base tea to withstand high temperature and heavy moisture absorption/release. If the leaf is too curly, it will easily break during scenting. -
Shaping and firing
To increase durability and ability to absorb the Jasmine fragrance, the Ganlu tea base is often lightly reshaped and re-fired, which makes the leaves straighter and firmer. This ensures the tea keeps its structure after several scenting rounds.
Freshly picked and made at the end of July 2025.