--- title: "Méngdǐng shíhuā" url: https://thetea.app/article/mengding-shihua lang: en updated: 2026-07-19 source: THE TEA — encyclopedia of Chinese tea (https://thetea.app) --- # Méngdǐng shíhuā (蒙顶石花) Mengding Shihua — *Méngdǐng shíhuā*, "stone flower from Meng peak" — is a flat, straight, silvery-downy green tea from Mengding Mountain in Ya'an (Sichuan), which tradition considers among the oldest loose-leaf named teas of China. It is an exemplary "needle-bud" of the Sichuan school: a silvery sheen, strict form, and a long, sweet aftertaste. **1. Classification and Origin:** * **Type:** green tea * **Class:** pan-fired green teas (炒青, *chǎoqīng*) * **Category:** one of the oldest loose-leaf named teas of China * **Origin:** Mengding Mountain (蒙顶山, *Méngdǐngshān*), Ya'an district, Sichuan Province (四川·雅安) * **Variety/Cultivar:** local Mengshan mixed population (蒙山群体, *Méngshān qúntǐ*) — not a clonal mono-variety, but a historically formed local "group" gene pool of Mengding Mountain, the same one that also nourishes the Ganlu line Mengding Mountain is the historical cradle of Sichuan tea cultivation; it is precisely here, on a single terroir node, that both the famous curled, multi-downy Mengding Ganlu ([蒙顶甘露](https://thetea.app/article/mengding-gan-lu), *Méngdǐng gānlù*) and the flat Mengding Shihua are born. If Ganlu embodies the "curled" line, then Shihua is its flat-straight pole. **2. History and Cultural Significance:** Mengding Mountain is one of the most meaning-laden addresses of Chinese tea: it is the historical cradle of named tea cultivation in the Southwest. In this tradition, Mengding Shihua holds a special place as one of the oldest loose-leaf named teas — that is, as an early example of tea valued not in the form of pressed cakes and powder, but precisely as a whole loose leaf with its own name and recognizable shape. The very name "stone flower" (石花) poetically describes the tea's appearance: light, straight, slightly "opened" silvery buds, reminiscent of a flower blooming on stone. Paired with Ganlu, it forms a cultural diptych of Mengding Mountain: "curled dew" (甘露) and "straight stone flower" (石花) — two forms from one terroir, demonstrating how the mastery of the hand determines the face of the tea no less than the leaf itself. **3. Botanical Description and Raw Material:** The raw material for Mengding Shihua comes from local population bushes — the Mengshan mixed population (蒙山群体, *Méngshān qúntǐ*). Population plantings are valued for the diversity of buds and the subtle, multi-layered aromatics characteristic of old named teas: the leaf is of a small-leaf type, uniform, with dense silvery pubescence on the young bud — the basis of the future "silver bud". **4. Terroir and Cultivation Features:** The birthplace of the tea is Mengding Mountain in Ya'an district, Sichuan Province. In the tea geography of the Southwest, Ya'an stands on the axis of "origin · early spring · form" (起源·早·形): the earliest harvests and the earliest names extend back here. The humid, foggy climate of the foothills, the coolness of the altitude, and the diffused light yield a tender, slowly growing leaf with a high content of aromatic and sweet components — precisely the raw material base upon which the premium pre-Qingming teas of Mengding are built. **5. Production Technology:** Mengding Shihua belongs to the class of pan-fired green teas (炒青, *chǎoqīng*). The key to its appearance is shaping directly in the pan (锅中整形): the leaf is not rolled, as in Ganlu with its "triple firing, triple rolling, triple drying", but straightened and pressed in the heated pan, giving it a flat-straight, "needle-like" geometry. The logic of the process for such bud material: * **Fixation (殺青).** The high temperature of the pan stops the oxidative enzymes, fixes the living green, and removes "grassiness" while preserving the bud's tenderness. * **Shaping-Straightening (整形).** In the hot pan, using palm movements, the leaf is sequentially straightened and slightly flattened, keeping each bud straight and whole; this is precisely where the signature form of the "silver needle-bud" is born. * **Drying and Finishing.** The leaf is brought to stable dryness, fixing the flat profile and preserving the silvery pubescence. The main difference from Ganlu is simple and important: the same mountain leaf in different hands yields either a curled, multi-downy tea (Ganlu) or a flat-straight needle (Shihua). Shihua is the "straight" technical branch of Mengding. In the segment grid, Mengding Shihua passes as a high-grade (高档) tea. The harvest season is pre-Qingming, highest category (明前·特级, *míngqián tèjí*): the leaf is gathered before the Qingming Festival, when the bud is most tender, the pubescence is dense, and the content of sweet and aromatic substances is at a maximum. "Teji" (special grade) implies strict selection: uniform, whole, straight silvery buds without coarse leaf. Specific GB/T numbers for this name are not fixed in the source materials, therefore they are not cited here. **6. Organoleptic Characteristics:** The finished tea is recognized by its shape and color: a flat-straight silver bud (扁直 银芽), uniform, with a bright silvery sheen of pubescence. In the cup — a structure characteristic of premium Mengding: a clean, tender aroma and a sweet, long, "refined" aftertaste (甘隽, *gānjùn*) — the very lingering sweet "echo" for which Mengding has been valued for centuries. **9. Brewing:** Practical guidelines for brewing tender bud-type green tea: * **Water.** Soft, cooled after boiling to approximately 80–85 °C: boiling water will "burn" the bud and coarsen the taste. * **Vessels.** A tall glass or a porcelain gaiwan — in order to see the "dance" of straight silvery buds, slowly rising and descending. * **Dosage and Steeping.** A small amount of leaf, short infusions; the tender leaf quickly releases sweetness and aroma, therefore several short infusions are better than one long one. * **Profile in the cup.** Seek clean, tender sweetness, a subtle aroma, and a long, sweet aftertaste without coarse bitterness — this is the signature of Shihua. **11. Price and Counterfeits:** How to distinguish authentic Mengding Shihua: * **From Mengding Ganlu.** The same mountain leaf, but the opposite form: Ganlu — curled, multi-downy, "rolled"; Shihua — a flat-straight silver bud. If you have a Mengding in the form of a straight needle-bud — this is the Shihua line. * **From Zhu Yeqing ([竹叶青](https://thetea.app/article/zhu-ye-qing)).** Zhu Yeqing from Mount Emei is also a flat-straight pan-fired tea made from a single bud, but it is primarily a brand-standard of Emeishan with a "tender-chestnut" aroma. Shihua, however, is Mengding/Ya'an, with an emphasis on silvery pubescence and a long, sweet aftertaste (*gānjùn*), and relies on the local population 蒙山群体, not on the varietal base of Emei. * **From "flat" greens in general.** A flat-straight form in different teas arises through pan-shaping, therefore the form must be read together with the address and aroma. Authentic Shihua is: Ya'an · Mengding Mountain · pre-Qingming "teji" · silvery straight bud · clean, tender sweetness with a long aftertaste. * **What to look for in the dry leaf.** Uniform, whole, straight buds with a bright silvery sheen, without coarse large leaf and without curled "snails" (the latter would rather point to Ganlu). **12. Interesting Facts:** * Mengding Shihua is worth reading as a living monument: one of the oldest named loose-leaf teas, in which the historical depth of Mengding Mountain, a tender population raw material base, and a strict shaping technique converge, yielding the recognizable "stone flower" of a silver needle.