Da Fang (Dinggu Dafang)

Da Fang — also called Dinggu Dafang or Zhuye Dafang — is a flat- style pan-fired green tea from She County in southern Anhui (Huangshan Prefecture). It is documented in the Old History of the Five Dynasties (《旧五代史》), placing its history at over 1,000 years; during the Five Dynasties period it was an imperial tribute tea. The flat-shaping technique developed for Da Fang is the documented ancestor of the technique later used for Longjing — making Da Fang, in effect, Longjing's predecessor. Named after a Yuan-dynasty monk named Dafang who lived at an ancient temple on Laozhuling Mountain.