Valley Peak (Ding Gu Da Fang)

Like many of China’s famous greens, this tea also has a rich history. Known in China as Ding Gu Da Fang (Valley Peak Da Fang), it was named after the Buddhist monk who originally grew the plants on Huangshan (Yellow Mountain) centuries ago.

Da Fang cared for the plants and served its elixir to scholars who would visit the monastery. His tea became famous and people would come to the temple just to sip his tea.

He gave tea plants to local farmers and while the crops flourished, the farmers became prosperous and named the tea in homage to Da Fang and it’s growing region.

It is said by many tea scholars that this tea is the ancestor to the now very famous Longjing (a.k.a. Dragonwell).

Grown not just organically in this pristine nature reserve, the farmers here use biodynamic growing methods – it is like homeopathy for the land and the growers pay very close attention to everything in the soil and environment to keep all of its life in balance.

If you enjoy Longjing green, you are sure to relish several steepings of this great tea! Mellow and delicate with a lovely sweet after taste and a slight hint of nuttiness. A treat for any lover of green tea. And if you’re not a green tea lover to begin with, this one may very well make you a convert!

5 Tasting Notes

Amy oh 2 tasting notes

This came as a free sample from the people at Mandala Tea who also seem very nice, thanks for the sample, guys!

The shape and smell of this one does remind me of a dragonwell, but I’ve been very underwhelmed by dragonwells in the past. I was not too stingy with the leaf here and steeped it at 180 F for 3 minutes, regular infuser mug method.

I did like this one! It brews up to be a very light yellow color in the cup. I was expecting it to be wimpy but it really isn’t. The flavor is quite delicate but there is a also a delicious macadamia nut like richness about it with a sweet finish. yummy!

This is a beautiful cup to be savored and now it goes on my shopping list… heh heh :)

2012-03-14 11:56:48 -0400

180 °F / 82 °C

3 min 0 sec

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tperez

Got this as a sample from Mandala with a teapot I ordered

This is pretty darn good! Similar to dragonwell, which usually isn’t my favorite, but I really enjoyed this tea. It has a nice nutty taste, more like macadamia than chestnut, which lingers for quite a while and gives a strong, pleasant tingling at the back of the throat. Its smoother than a dragonwell, kind of like a light oxidation oolong.

The leaves are nicely pressed and unbroken, and open up fully when brewing. This is a very light colored green tea, almost looks like a white or yellow.

The pot I ordered is very cute and has a nice pour, however the lid doesn’t seem to fit quite right, which is a little disappointing. It looks like the body of the pot was slightly warped during production, leaving the hole that the lid sits on slightly oval shaped, so it wont quite fit. Its a nice small pot though, and the lid trouble wont keep me from using it.

2012-10-05 19:34:58 -0400

I do agree with LiberTEAs on this one…it sort of reminds me of a yellow tea! Mellow and delicate yet sweet and nutty…my fave part…it’s SMOOTH. Very nice!

2012-03-01 13:43:30 -0500

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LiberTEAS

In the description of this tea, Mandala Tea compares it to a LongJing. For me, though, I think I like this better than a typical LongJing! This is milder, sweeter and smoother. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good LongJing, but, there is just something special about this Ding Gu Da Fang. So sweet and light, it reminds me a bit of a Yellow Tea.

LOVE!

2012-02-15 22:10:50 -0500

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