Compare two teas
Side by side across seven dimensions. There is no verdict and no winner — the purpose is to understand the difference, not to be told which to buy.
Why these two get confused
Two romanisations of one grade, frequently listed as separate products.
Point by point
| Dimension | Gong Ting shou pu-erh | Gong Ting shou pu-erh |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Dark tea and pu-erh · not applicable · post-fermented (microbial wet piling) | Dark tea and pu-erh · not applicable · post-fermented (microbial wet piling) |
| Production | In order: Withering → Kill-green (fixation) → Rolling and shaping → Sun-drying (shai qing) → Wet piling (wo dui) → Compression. bud and one leaf and spring harvest. | In order: Withering → Kill-green (fixation) → Rolling and shaping → Wet piling (wo dui). bud only and spring harvest. |
| Origin | China — Menghai | China — Menghai |
| Flavour | sweet, chocolate and earthy. full bodied, silky and smooth in the mouth. Aroma: dried date, cocoa, sweet earth. Moderate in character. Moderate in intensity. | chocolate, sweet and earthy. silky, smooth and rich in the mouth. Aroma: dark chocolate, sweet earth, dried date, vanilla. Moderate in character. Moderate in intensity. |
| Brewing | Gongfu brewing (gaiwan): 5–7 g/100 ml at 98–100 °C, first steep 8s of 6 authored. Western brewing (teapot or mug): 1.5–2.5 g/100 ml at 95–100 °C, first steep 180s. | Gongfu brewing (gaiwan): 5–7 g/100 ml at 98–100 °C, first steep 8s of 6 authored. Western brewing (teapot or mug): 1.5–2.5 g/100 ml at 95–100 °C, first steep 180s. |
| Cultural context | 'Palace grade' describes leaf size. Wet-piling was developed in the 1970s, so any imperial association the name suggests is marketing rather than history. | 'Gong Ting' describes a leaf-size grade, not an imperial provenance and not an age. The tribute-tea association is a modern naming convention and should not be read as a historical claim. |
| Who may prefer it | Someone who wants presence without being dominated and wants to enjoy it on the first cup. It tolerates an imprecise brew. | Someone who wants presence without being dominated and wants to enjoy it on the first cup. It tolerates an imprecise brew. |
Nothing above is a recommendation. The last row describes the drinker each tea suits, using each tea’s own authored fields and the same sentence structure for both, so neither can be framed as the safe choice.