Gan Lu’s 2000-year history is shrouded in mist and myth. Drink this tea and you are drinking a little bit of tea history, especially if it comes from Meng Ding Mountain, which is one of the cradles of tea cultivation. It is a beautiful tea to behold due to it’s curled and slightly twisted leaves and olive green color. The high bud content becomes even more apparent when you inspect the steeped leaves.

Provenance:

• Origin: Meng Ding Mtn., Ya'an City, Sichuan Province, China
• Grower/Teamaster: Luo Ping
  
• Harvest Date: Mid-March 2022
• Cultivar: Chuancha #9 (Sichuan Tea Bush #9)
  
• Cultivation: Natural (No chemical fertilizer, pesticide, or herbicide)
• Plucking Standard: Imperial pluck (bud plus 1 leaf)
• Processing Notes:  The budsets of this historic tea are carefully curled during processing
• Nickname: Sweet Dew(甘露); Xian Cha in Sichuanese, or Tea of the Immortals³
• History/Pedigree: This tea has been cultivated on Mengshan for 2000 years. Hence there are a lot of different stories around its origin. It is on many of the lists for top teas from China. Some say it gets its name from a Taoist temple. Some say from the Buddhist monk Ganlu who brought tea and Buddhism back from his travels to India⁴. Enjoyed by Song dynasty emperors.

Brewing Suggestions¹:

• Water: 170-180˚F
• Tea: 2g per 4oz of water (about a level 2 tsp²)
• Steep: 2 minutes with 2-3 steepings

Tasting Notes:

• Earthy, slightly nutty taste with a floral aroma

¹ Brewing suggestions are just that. Try it the suggested way then experiment. In this case I suggest first experimenting with the quantity of tea per oz of water. Some tea drinkers like to use slightly hotter and longer times for each subsequent steeping.

² Weighing your tea is always the best way to control your dosage. I provide approximate volume measures for convenience but they can be problematic due to the variance in tea leaf shape and size. It’s best to use the single appropriate volume measure for the tea, i.e., don’t try to measure 1.5TB using two spoons meant to measure 1 TB and a ½ TB. Use an actual 1.5 TB measuring spoon. Yes, they make them! I like the oblong ones to handle longer leaf styles.

³ Mary Lou Heiss, Robert J. Heiss. The Story of Tea: A Cultural History and Drinking Guide. Ten Speed Press. 2007.

⁴ James Norwood Pratt. Tea Dictionary. Tea Society Press 2010.