A New Favorite?

I’ve been drinking a ton of green tea lately and, as such, it has become increasingly difficult to answer the question ‘what is your favorite green tea?’ I really do enjoy all types of green teas, from Gyokuro to Dragon Well to Jasmine Pearls, but I think I can safely say that there is one sole green tea that I can (currently) call my favorite.

My current favorite

That tea is called Meng Ding Yu Lu (or Meng Ding Gan Lu). This particular tea comes from Meng Shan (Mt. Meng) located in China’s Sichuan Province. The two different names describe the color of the tea and the taste of the tea, respectively; ‘Yu Lu’ translates to Jade Dew and ‘Gan Lu’ translates to Sweet Dew.

Meng Ding Yu Lu is known in China as a tribute tea, meaning it was originally exclusively for the royal family to consume. Meng Ding Yu Lu is one of the first tribute teas and was introduced during the Tang Dynasty (7th-10th centuries). In his “Classic of Tea”, Lu Yu wrote that the best teas come from the top of Mt. Meng and that the best water to brew tea comes from the middle of the Yangzi river. Legend tells that this tea was first cultivated by Wu Li Zhen, a legendary Buddhist monk, and that when Wu Li Zhen achieved Nirvana the locals nicknamed this tea “Xian Cha”, meaning Tea of the Immortal (http://www.teaspring.com/Meng-Ding-Gan-Lu.asp).

This tea not only has a rich history, but also tastes delicious. In my opinion this tea is best brewed with under-boiling water and in something made of glass. Glass allows for the purest flavor and allows one to appreciate how visually beautiful a green tea can be. I use a tall slender glass as my brewing vessel and can usually get three brews from 3 grams of this tea.

The tea looks beautiful as it is added to the hot water

All that remains

The first steeping is smooth and sweet with not a trace of bitterness. The second is still sweet, but a slight sharpness arrives that complements the sweetness perfectly. The third steeping is slightly more astringent, but still extremely smooth. Currently, there is no tea that I would rather be drinking than Meng Ding Yu Lu.