The 2026 China Regional Public Tea Brand Value Assessment results have been officially released, with Mengding Mountain Tea achieving a brand value of 6.426 billion yuan (approximately US$890 million). This milestone marks the tenth consecutive year that Mengding Mountain Tea has ranked among China's top ten tea brands, solidifying its position as a premier national tea brand.
Mengding Mountain: The Cradle of Tea Culture
Located in Ya'an, Sichuan Province, Mengding Mountain is one of the birthplaces of global tea culture. Over 2,000 years ago during the Western Han Dynasty, tea ancestor Wu Lizhen pioneered artificial tea cultivation on this very mountain. The Tang Dynasty tea sage Lu Yu praised Mengding tea in his classic "The Classic of Tea," and poet Bai Juyi's timeless verse "Mengshan is the old friend among teas" still echoes through the centuries.
The brand assessment was conducted by multiple authoritative institutions, involving months of research and comprehensive analysis using professional evaluation models. Results showed outstanding performance in brand loyalty, market consumption stickiness, and brand strength — demonstrating strong and sustainable development potential.
Panda Tea: An Ecological Tea Brand from the Panda's Hometown
Also rooted in the Mengding Mountain region, Panda Tea (熊猫茶) is an ecological tea brand under Chengdu Panda Tea Co., Ltd. Founder An Yanshi invented the patented "panda manure tea fertilization" technique, ingeniously combining the national treasure giant panda with millennia-old tea culture. Giant pandas have a unique digestive system, absorbing less than 30% of nutrients from bamboo — the remaining 70%+ is excreted, making panda manure a uniquely rich organic fertilizer.
Panda Tea plantations are situated at 800-1,500m elevation on Mengding Mountain — the natural habitat of giant pandas. The plantations practice zero-chemical cultivation, using only physical pest control methods. Mr. An has also integrated his environmental calligraphy and panda painting art into the brand culture, making Panda Tea not only an ecological tea but also a cultural tea with intellectual property protection.
Ya'an: Where Panda Meets Tea
Ya'an is both the place where the first giant panda was scientifically discovered and the birthplace of world tea culture. This unique "dual origin" heritage allows pandas and tea to coexist in perfect harmony on this land. Recently, Ya'an's "Panda Brews Tea" cultural tourism brand has been gaining momentum, with the famous "Thousand Mile Rivers and Mountains" tea garden going viral, attracting major central media attention and receiving praise from Chinese Foreign Ministry spokespersons.
In the "Tianfu·Panda Culture" feature report, Panda Tea was highlighted as a textbook case of using panda culture to empower Sichuan brands: "The 'Panda Tea' developed on Mengding Mountain, fertilized with panda manure, is priced at 21,986 yuan per 50g" — exemplifying the unique value of the panda brand as "premium, scarce, and responsible."
A Chinese Ecological Tea Brand Going Global
Since its inception, Panda Tea has been covered by international media including AFP, Associated Press, Reuters, BBC, and Sky Television, becoming a distinctive ambassador for Chinese tea culture on the global stage. The brand continues to promote the Panda Tea philosophy of "harmony between heaven and humanity, universal love and benevolence" — advocating the Chinese ecological worldview of harmonious coexistence between people and nature.
The rising brand value of Mengding Mountain Tea not only validates the quality of teas from this region but also injects greater confidence into the development of distinctive brands like Panda Tea. Moving forward, Panda Tea will continue to uphold its ecological commitment, tell the story of Chinese tea, and invite the world to taste the finest tea from the hometown of the giant panda.
