Gōngtíng — “palace grade” — is not a historical name (shu pu-erh did not exist during the Qing era to have a palace grade at all). It is the top tier of the modern thirteen-grade loose-shu classification, formalised by the Menghai trade standard T/MHC 003-2020: the smallest, most tender buds sorted after wò duī fermentation, giving a cup notably free of the earthy notes that define coarser grades.
This listing carries the real weight formats, wholesale price bands and brewing spec from the teamotea retail catalog (SKU 3.3). For the full story — the 1973 invention of wò duī, the marketing history of the “imperial” name, and how Gong Ting compares to the other twelve grades — read the complete profile.