Meng Ding Gan Lu

Yesterday, two of my students brought this tea in for me. They went to Ya'an for the National Day Holiday and I had asked them to pick up some Mengdingshan Gan Lu for me. I had failed to do enough research into the best tea to buy from that region. Thought it was Mao Feng but it was, instead, Gan Lu or Sweet Dew. In fact, it was supposed to have been this Gan Lu that first became famous from this area. The first trees cultivated in China were on Mengding Mountain and the best tea from these plants was reportedly Gan Lu.

So here is my new addition to our tea cache. It was not cheap but currently is the best tea we now have. Certified to be (by some accounts) in the top ten traditional teas of China.



The sack says where it comes from. The students bought it from a tea store in the ancient town of Shangli



Beautifully boxed as all expensive and famous teas seem to be in China. I guess this is called Presentation Tea or Gift Tea.