Mengding Ganlu orGanlu tea is atea from Meng Mountain (Meng Shan), Sichuan Province in the southwest part of China. Meng Shan is reputed to be the place where tea was first cultivated.[1]Mengding Ganlu means "Sweet Dew of Mengding" where Mengding refers to "the top of Meng Shan".[2]
According to legend, aTaoist Master Wu Lizhen (吴理真) first planted seven tea bushes on Meng Mountain during the Ganlu era (53-50 BCE) ofEmperor Xuan ofHan dynasty.[1] Prior to this, tea were picked from wild tea bushes. After he died, the tea was called "tea of theimmortals" (仙茶).[3] Buddhist monasteries were later established on the five peaks of the mountain, and from theTang dynasty to theQing dynasty, 360 tea leaves were picked and prepared each spring by the Buddhist monks to be presented to the emperor.[1] The tea was used as ceremonial offering by the emperor. Wu Lizhen was conferred the posthumous honorific title of Master of Ganlu (meaning "Sweet Dew", full titleGanlu Puhui Miaoji Dashi 甘露普惠妙济大师) byEmperor Xiaozong of theSong dynasty, from which the tea acquired its name.[3]
Before the mid-Tang dynasty, tea from the Meng Mountain was rare and highly prized; and as demand grew, more tea bushes were planted.[4] Mengding Ganlu is one of the teas produced in the Meng Mountain and it is agreen tea, other teas from Meng Mountain include "Mengding Huangya" (蒙顶黄芽) and "Mengding Shihua" (蒙顶石花) which areyellow teas.[5] According to the 16th century scholarLi Shizhen who compiledCompendium of Materia Medica, tea produced from Meng Mountain is "warm and able to take charge of disease," unlike other kinds of tea which are generally cool in nature.[1]
