TeaHQ

Gong Ting shou pu-erh

The finest leaf grade of shou pu-erh, made from small buds and tips. The name references imperial tribute and is a grading term rather than a historical claim — palace-grade shou cannot predate the 1970s, because wet-piling does not.

Dark tea and pu-erhModerate intensityAccessible to appreciateForgiving to brew宮廷普洱
Brew at 98–100 °CUse 5–7 g per 100 mlFirst steep 8sGongfu brewing (gaiwan)Full schedule and equipment →

Character

The smoothest shou there is, sweet and almost chocolatey, with none of the coarse earthiness of lower grades.

Flavour
Sweet, Chocolate, Earthy
Aroma
Caramelised
Mouthfeel
Full bodied, Silky, Smooth
Complexity
Moderate
Notes
dried date, cocoa, sweet earth
Aftertaste
Very smooth and sweet, with no roughness at all.

Moderate intensity: noticeable weight or grip, but neither dominates the cup.

Provenance and production

Origin
China
Region
Menghai
Cultivar
Menghai Da Ye
Oxidation
Not applicable
Post-fermentation
Microbial wet piling
Harvest
Spring
Processing
Withering → Kill-green (fixation) → Rolling and shaping → Sun-drying (shai qing) → Wet piling (wo dui) → Compression

Authenticity: 'Palace grade' describes leaf size. Wet-piling was developed in the 1970s, so any imperial association the name suggests is marketing rather than history.

Brewing

No caffeine estimate is authored for this tea. TeaHQ does not infer one from its category, because category predicts caffeine poorly — matcha and gyokuro carry more than many black teas.

If you like this

Grouped by why they were suggested, strongest reason first. Nothing here is a blended score — a suggestion appears under the best reason that exists for it, and never under a weaker one as well.

Editorially linked

Someone wrote down why these two belong together. The note below is theirs.

  • Light-fermented shou pu-erh

    The smoothest shou, then one taken through a shorter pile that keeps some of the raw leaf’s brightness.

  • Gong Ting shou pu-erh

    The same grade under two spellings of the same name — worth knowing so a buyer is not paying twice for one thing.

Similar sensory profile

Shares controlled flavour, aroma and mouthfeel descriptors. A looser match — two teas can share descriptors and still taste nothing alike.

  • Lao Cha Tou

    Shares 6 descriptors with Gong Ting shou pu-erh: sweet, chocolate, earthy, full bodied, silky and caramelised.

  • Liu Bao

    Shares 6 descriptors with Gong Ting shou pu-erh: earthy, sweet, smooth, full bodied, silky and caramelised.

  • Menghai shou pu-erh

    Shares 6 descriptors with Gong Ting shou pu-erh: earthy, chocolate, sweet, full bodied, smooth and caramelised.

  • Shou pu-erh (ripe)

    Shares 6 descriptors with Gong Ting shou pu-erh: earthy, sweet, chocolate, full bodied, smooth and caramelised.

  • Aged Baozhong

    Shares 5 descriptors with Gong Ting shou pu-erh: sweet, full bodied, silky, smooth and caramelised.

  • Aged Liu Bao

    Shares 5 descriptors with Gong Ting shou pu-erh: sweet, earthy, full bodied, silky and caramelised.

Compare this tea with another

Journeys featuring this tea

  • Exploring pu-erh — Someone who has had one pu-erh, could not tell whether it was raw or ripe, and wants the map.
  • Exploring Yunnan tea — Someone who knows Yunnan for pu-erh and not for anything else it makes.