Mengding Maofeng (Feather Peak)

Green Tea 2021

Mengding Maofeng green tea dry leaves in a wooden display box.
Cupped infusion of Mengding Maofeng green tea and strained leaves.
Mengding Maofeng wet tea leaves floating in clear water.
Closeup of fuzzy young Dabai tea buds used to make Mengding Maofeng on the bush, in the tea garden in spring.
Looking over a sprawling tea garden full of Fuding Dabai cultivar tea bushes planted in Sichuan to make Mengding Maofeng green tea. Many rows of bushes with bright green new spring leaves, with forested mountains in the background.

Mengding Maofeng’s fried chestnut and wildflower aroma makes it one of our favorite everyday green teas. Handpicked with one bud and two leaves for fullness and complexity, expect pure and crisp early-spring flavors without the high price tag.

This year’s 2021 Mengding Maofeng is very clean and smooth. Its pastry-like sweetness is perfectly balanced with vegetable brightness and mild chestnutty undertones.

2021’s first delivery of Mengding Maofeng (Feather Peak) is sold out, but more is on the way!
If you would like to be notified as soon as this tea is back in stock, please let us know.

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Tea Origin
Mengding Mountain, Ya'an City, Sichuan Province, China

Tea Bush
Dabai (Big White)

Tea Master
Luo Ping

Harvest Time
Early March

Picking Standard
One bud, two leaves
Meng Ding Tea Garden
Mengding Tea Garden

Mengding’s tea is harvested earlier than other places due to Sichuan’s unique climate. Picking of Mengding Ganlu (Sweet Dew) begins as early as late February, while Mengding Maofeng is picked in the middle of March. The plucking is done entirely by hand, while the leaf is gently rolled into shape and dried by machine. The result is an economical early spring green tea that is popular among frequent tea drinkers as a good quality “every-day” tea. Mengding Maofeng’s aroma is like fried chestnuts paired with wild flowers. It possesses the classic characteristics of teas grown in Sichuan — persistent aroma, rich mouth-feel without bitterness, and a slow infusion.

History

Twelve hundred years ago, the tea from the Mengding Mountains in Sichuan became the earliest tea designated as tribute to the imperial palace, along with and Guzhu Zisun (Purple Bamboo Shoot) of Zhejiang. Due to difficulties in transportation at the time, Mengding’s tea was especially hard to come by in the common market. The literati of the time all went to great lengths to obtain it and each year composed numerous poems to sing the praises of Meng Ding tea.

Meng Ding moutain
Mengding Mountain tea gardens
Among the most famous of them are these lines:
蒙顶山上茶
扬子江中水

Tea of the Mengding Mountain’s top

Water of the Yangzi River’s center.

These lines of poetry suggest that in their time, tea picked on top of Mt. Meng Ding was considered to be the best, and the best water was that which came from the Yangzi (Yangtze in the Wade-Giles Romanization) River. It’s evident in this passage that the tea connoisseurs of antiquity were already insisting that good tea should also be paired with good water.

No chemical fertilizer, pesticide, or herbicide was used in the production of this tea. Click here to read more about our promise to fair trade and the environment.

Mengding Maofeng (Feather Peak) brewing guidelines

Teaware: 16 oz. glass or porcelain pot / Gaiwan
Amount: 1 Tbs (4 grams) of tea leaves
Water: 180°F filtered water
Infusion: First infusion at least 1 minute. The leaves are good for 4 infusions. Add a little more time for each subsequent infusion.

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