Organic Top Grade Sichuan Meng Ding Shi Hua Stone Flower Chinese Green Tea

Type: Green

Packaging: Bag

Origin: China

Description: Meng Ding Shi Hua is the green tea from the Mengshan Mountain of Sichuan province. It is one of Top Ten Chinese Famous Teas. Meng Ding Shi Hua comes from the tea garden in Mengshan with altitude around 1450m. The processing follows the classic traditional processing, especially the ‘Three times Frying and Three times Rolling’ and the charcoal heat baking makes the outstanding quality of this tea! Mengshan is one of the oldest places in China recorded to plant tea. Monk Wu Li Zhen was there to plant tea in around BC200. Later in Song Dynasty, he was officially memorized as Tea Ancestorï¼_he tea garden he built was preserved and named as Imperial Tea garden. The tea produced in this garden was the tribute tea to the imperial family in all-through Song Dynasty.

 

Shi Hua literally means ‘stone flower’ in Chinese. In the past there were many temples in Mengding Mountain, and the monks were the pioneer to produce this tea. The Top grade Meng Ding Shi Hua is made by the earliest single buds germinated in Spring. The dried leaves of top grade is generally 12 to 20 mm long, telling the size of the tiny young shoots that the pluckers have to nib off from the branches by hand. They are also mostly only shoots, or shoots with scale leaves (the tiny protective scale-like leaves that cover the shoot before the shoot flushes).

 

 

And the traditional processing of this tea is very onerous. Generally it needs three times of frying and three times of rolling. And charcoal heat is necessarily used to baking drying of this tea. The fine tea material of Megnshan and the exquisite processing make the tea tender pure vegetal taste. In the cup, the liquor has a sweet / mildly astringent flavor reminiscent of delicate spring bamboo shoots and asparagus. These qualities, coupled with the vibrant vegetal aroma and freshness of its early plucking time, gives the tea backbone and structure, like a fine Riesling wine. The taste of the tea flirts with the palate and is a sheer delight.

 

This tea can be steeped light (both in quantity of leaf used and/or time in-the-water) in which case the liquid tea will have a subtle but wonderfully pure flavor. If you prefer more of the vegetal flavor for which this tea is known, then use the traditional amount and steep for the classic two minutes to achieve one of the best cups of Meng Ding Shi Hua.

 

 

Brewing Guide: we recommend using a Gaiwan (traditional covered steeping cup). Preheat the Gaiwan with hot water and fill with 1 teaspoon of leaf. Cover with relatively cool water 60-70C (140-158F) and infuse for 2 minutes. To serve, pour into a pitcher or directly into warmed tasting cups and enjoy. It may be reinfused 2-3 times by gradually increasing steeping time and water temperature.