Mengding Shihua蒙顶石花

Mengding Shihua is a green tea from Mengding Mountain, Ya'an, Sichuan, China. Brew it at 85°C with 3.5g of leaf per 100ml of water; expect up to 5 short infusions in a small gaiwan or teapot. No rinse needed.

Tasting notes

Shihua is the stern sibling of Mengding Ganlu — same mountain, same cultivar, completely different character. The wok-pressing rubs the downy hairs off and compresses the leaf, and with them goes the honey-floral softness. What's left is a sharper cup: roasted grain, a mineral edge, a warm toasty baseline that sits closer to a light Long Jing than to the perfumed Sichuan sweetness Ganlu is known for. It's also less forgiving. The floral lift is gone, so there's nowhere for a mistake to hide — overheat the water and it turns papery; understeep and it tastes thin and flat. Give the first infusion twenty to twenty-five seconds to let the pressed leaves open, and stay at 85°C. Good Shihua has a long warm finish that reminds me of toasted bread crust more than any other green I know. Not a beginner's tea, but worth sitting with once you've worked through the easier Sichuan greens.

Flavor profile

A flat-pressed Sichuan green tea from the same mountain as Ganlu but processed differently — the leaves are pressed against the wok, rubbing away the downy hairs and creating a flatter, more compact shape. The resulting cup is sharper and more grain-forward than Ganlu, with a warm toasty character, accents of roasted grain, and less floral lift. A tea that rewards careful gaiwan brewing to reveal its nuanced character.

Terroir

Mengding Mountain summit (~1000-1400m), perpetual cloud cover, subtropical monsoon

Cultivar: Local Mengding cultivar

Brewing

1. Steep 1: 20 seconds
2. Steep 2: 20 seconds
3. Steep 3: 30 seconds
4. Steep 4: 40 seconds
5. Steep 5: 55 seconds

Slightly more robust than Ganlu — handles 85°C well. The flat-pressed leaves need a few seconds longer to open in the first steep.

Aroma & taste

Processing

• pan-fired
• flat-pressed in wok

Sources

• https://www.teaguardian.com/quality-varieties/tea-varieties/mingshan-shihua-green-tea/
• https://www.chinateawholesale.com/product-page/meng-ding-shi-hua-tea-meng-ding-mountain-green-tea-sichuan-green-tea
• https://www.teaformeplease.com/green-teas-of-sichuan/