2026 Meng Ding Shi Hua

Mengding Shihua — lao chuan cha (old Sichuan qunti). 4–5g. 100 ml gaiwan. 90–95°C water.

Dry leaves are slender, flat and straight, single buds, even. Green with a slight yellow cast, fine down visible. Bring the leaf close. The first thing entering the nose is a tender green-bean note, on the drier side. Move closer, a chestnut-like sweetness appears from within, light, biscuit-like.

1, Rinse. Aroma stays low. Green-bean note leads. Liquor touches at the tip of the tongue, a light, crisp contact, like the surface of a freshly split bamboo shoot tip, then opens. It spreads across the tongue surface, carrying a soft, starchy body. No bitterness.

2, The green-bean note becomes more compact, closer to a firm, dry pea rather than a juicy one. Chestnut moves along the upper palate. The liquor holds briefly across the tongue surface, then settles. Texture remains smooth, with a slight powdery density.

3, The two layers move together. Green-bean stays low, chestnut runs along the palate. The liquor holds at the center of the tongue, then spreads evenly outward. A fine, mineral presence sits within the liquor, not separating from it. Sweetness begins to gather at the back of the mouth.

4, Aroma lowers further. Chestnut lightens into a dry grain tone. The body draws slightly inward. Movement becomes more direct, from tongue surface toward the throat.

5, The liquor lightens. Green-bean fades into a clean vegetal trace. Texture remains continuous but thinner. Sweetness shortens.

6, The liquor turns clearer. Aroma nearly gone. It clears at the throat without residue. Infused leaves are tender, evenly opened, yellow-green, soft, intact. It enters at the tip of the tongue, spreads across the surface, holds briefly, then moves to the throat. Nothing lifts or separates.