Meng Ding Huang Da Cha

Very good everyday yellow tea. Da Cha means "big tea" and refers to the cheaper quality from large, late-picked leaves, shaped similar to the Meicha or Maofeng. This Mengding Huangdacha comes from tea gardens behind Mengding Mountain from tea plants of the old local Sichuan variety. It was traditionally processed as yellow tea, i.e. through traditional Menhuang - "humid/sticky yellowing", lasting at least 96 hours. The leaves are packed for about 24 hours at a time and fermented at high humidity and about 40°C, with more heat added in between depending on the condition and changes that have taken place. This whole process is difficult to control (the tea can suffocate and thus break) and very labour-intensive. Finally, the tea was roasted or dried three times over charcoal.

Mengding is probably the oldest tea-growing area that is not wild, i.e. planted by humans.