2005 Dayi 7542 502 (TeasWeLike Mid Aged Dayi 7542 Quarter Cake Set)

The whole cake of this was offered at TeasWeLike and sold out very fast…

Dry leaves are an old woody sweet plum smell.

First infusion has a rich pungent woody sweet plumb and smoke onset.  The initial taste is complex and nuanced powerful and elegant.  A drier stickier mouthfeeling that pushes saliva to the front of the mouth and tongue tip.  The finish is a pungent woody taste with an incense edge.

The second infusion has a vibrant complex and dense onset of flavours- woody pungent vibrant camphor flavor is the main one with some background smoke.  There is a rich coco sweetness that emerges slowly.  Nice strong alerting Qi.  Drier but nicely saliva producing mouthfeeling.  With a sweet coco plummy retuning taste.  Strong Chest / Heart sensation. 

3^rd has a strong condensed flavor onset of woody pungent camphor vibrancy.  There is a bit of background smoke and a mouthfeeling that is a bit drying but also a bit saliva producing.  It stimulates the front of the mouth and a bit of the back of the mouth simultaneously.  Nice vigorous energy boost.  Qi felt pounding at the Heart.

4^th infusion has a vibrant tingling pungent menthol woody sweet taste.  The sweetness kind of pops in the form of saliva retuning over a dry sticky tongue and mouthfeeling.  Strong waves of heat and energy wash over me in the mind and physically beating the chest and Heart.  The finish is a pungent woody almost plum sweetness.  The mouthfeeling is really stimulating and enjoyable.

5^th has a condensed woody sour pungent tingling taste.  More woody here with a sticky dry simulating mouthfeeling.  Nice strong alerting Qi and chest pounding Heart beats.

6^th has a rich syrupy condensed caramel oily woody onset with a slower to emerge mild smoke and some camphor woodiness some brown sugar in the finish with a rich woody taste.  Nice mouth stimulation in this one.  Strong Qi.

7^th thick dense complex of woody pungency with rich syrupy sweetness the sweetness kind of pops with the returning saliva.  The mouthfeeling is real nice with a front and back thing going on.  Oily texture.  Intense pressure of energy in the head and Heart beating.

8^th Has a rich woody pungent bitter woody syrupy sweet onset with a thick balance of pungency, bitter, sweetness.  Thick pop of syrupy coco sweetness.  Nice saliva producing effects.  Strong Qi sensation.

9^th has a woody pungent coco plum sweetness with a more pronounced smoky nuance to it.  The sweetness is rich and syrupy with a mouthwatering effect.  Nice power.

10^th has a smoky menthol like pungent sweet woody effect.  Lots of interesting syrupy sort of coco and sort of plum sweetness.  Strong saliva producing with a sticky dry mouthfeeling. 

11^th has a rich almost fruity plum with smoke underneath taste.  Nice smoky plum coco woody taste.  It still has lots of pungent cooling there as well.  Strong powerful factory tea push and head rushing.

12^th has a smoother almost creamy woody onset with a smoky backbone that develops into a cool menthol then to a smoky coco sweet finish.  A bit more dry here with a bit less oily and saliva producing effect.

The next day I steep it a handful more times and it gives off some nice sweet smoky woody tastes.

This one is the most condensed and complex of the 7542 tasting set.  I really enjoyed this cake a lot.

Ranking of the 7542 cakes at Teas We Like…

      1-      502

2-      504 (very close second)

3-      701

4-      101  (I liked Liquid Proust dry stored a bit better than Teas We Like Natural Taiwanese stored)

5-      601

Much Peace

2005 Dayi 7542 504 (TeasWeLike Mid Aged Dayi 7542 Quarter Cake Set)

I was most excited to try this sample from the now sold out TeasWe Like Mid Aged Dayi 7542 Quarter Cake Set because it is kind of famous in its own way.  For some reason this 4^th batch of the 2005 run is known to fetch higher prices, I do believe.  The reason must be because of the taste.  In this way it’s already kind of an outlier…

The dry leaves smell of older books like aged woody odours.

The first infusion has a woody raison sweet onset with a camphor woody middle with a long cool throat and sweeter raison finish.  The mouthfeeling is full and chalky dry.  There is a strong feeling of Qi even in the first infusion.  You can feel it in the mind and on the face.

The second infusion has a woody sweet onset.  There is a somewhat juicy oily texture with a sticky dry mouthfeeling.  There is a nice thick raison caramel sweetness in the finish.  Really nice fade out on the heavier sweet aftertaste.  Nice heady alertness.

The third infusion has a brown sugar woody creamy sweet onset.  The texture is nice and juicy here.  There is a nice cooling camphor that supports a nice long creamy caramel cooling aftertaste in a sticky mouthfeeling.

4^th has a creamy dense woody quite sweet intial sweetness.  The sweetness is very nice and is dragged out along the aftertaste.  The juicy oily texture seems to accentuate the sweetness of the 7542.  There is notable long coolness the makes the creamy rich sweet aftertaste fade out nicely.  Nice uplifting focusing energy.

5^th is a creamy very rich sweet woody taste.  Nice creamy sweetness which collides with coolness and seems to be amplified in the aftertaste.  Nice creamy sweet oily texture over a cooling sweet returning taste.  Nicely alerting but also warming and soothing Qi.

6^th is a creamy sweet not really that woody onset with a nice enlivening Qi feeling and oily texture.  There is some coolness faint herbal but mainly an oily creamy taste.  The mouthfeeling is a sticky slightly drying feeling that feels nice in the mouth.

7^th has a creamy sweet oily presentation with a lesser coolness and longer woody incense finish.  You can taste a bit of smoke here finally.  The mouthfeeling is more gripping but still oily texture and mouthwatering effect.  Some mild bitterness now.  Nice surge of happy energy enough to race the Heart.

8^th has a woody creamy sweet onset.  The creamy sweet taste reigns supreme with this 7542!  More herbal notes come out as well as woody and some lesser bitterness.  Nice cooling sweet creamy sweetness fades out into the distance.  Nice alerting and uplifting energy.

9^th is cooled down but gives off a sweet woody coolness and a nice creamy finish.  The creamy sweetness is really tasty for a 7542 a bit like brown sugar.  Nice comforting alerting feeling.  Smoother mouthfeeling now.

10^th is also left to cool and gives off a woody creamy almost bitter coco herbal sugar sweetness.  Nice long creamy a bit woody camphor but mainly sweet over a smooth velvety mouthfeeling.  Nice oily texture still.

11^th is left to cool again and is a nice juicy oily almost fruity sweet with creamy sweet tastes.  Nice oily texture with saliva producing effect.  Some faint cooling but mainly sweet plum tastes.  Nice mild uplifting Qi.

12^th infusion has a fruitier banana creamy sweet onset taste with smooth mouthcoating and still oily texture.  A lot of tastes have dropped off now but what remains is pretty satisfying.

13^th has a fruity taste a bit woody very mild bitterness with a light oily body.  Nice energy feeling but not excessive.

14^th mug steeping this out.. it gives off a rich plummy woody mainly sweet but still bitter coco plum taste.  Nice relaxing Qi sensations.

Overnight is a really nice oily and lubricating fruity sweet taste.  With a creamy milky chocolate cake strong taste and thick oily mouthfeeling… this is a great and interesting outlier 7542!

Overall a sweet and oilier 7542 here with a big oily lubricating texture and nice energetic feeling but also relaxing.  Tastes are quite delicious.  I like this one.  It would be nice if they could bring this one in.

Peace

7542 is Puerh Drinkers’ Soul Food

 I understand it is hard for new puerh drinkers, or even longer time drinkers who started drinking puerh during the Gushu era, to wrap their minds around why Menghai Tea Factory (called Dayi in recent times) 7542 recipe is so desired for drinking.  This is especially hard to grasp because the material that goes into the 7542 is not high end material, it is not Gushu material, and it is not that expensive material.  They are not the tippiest leaves nor are they the biggest.  Also the processing is not any more advanced or in anyway more special than other typical puerh factories.  Some would argue that it’s factory processing is seen as the original gold standard but it seems like every other factory these days has some human connections to the processing of Menghai Tea Factory.  Even people who venerate the 7542 would likely agree to these statements.  So what’s the big deal with Menghai’s classic 7542 recipe then?

I think it probably has a lot to do with the fact that this puerh production was considered one of the best for so long during the pre-Gushu era of puerh drinking.  It ages favourably.  Also the first super famous dry stored puerh, the 88 Qingbing, was a 7542. It’s longevity at the top has kind of cemented the 7542 as “the benchmark”.  For me it meant that back in the day I consumed a lot of 7542 or, in many/most cases, faked or CNNP 7542 or some approximation of this recipe.  After a while, there is this positive emotional relationship to the 7542 from just consuming it over time.  It ends up bringing you a certain comfort that other puerh or puerh recipes cannot.  Just like the way grandma’s recipe is the best recipe to you even though a gourmet chief using the best ingredients and modern techniques could arguably make it objectively better… but it won’t be better to you…

In this way the 7542 is soul food for the puerh drinker’s soul.

Peace

2006 Dayi 7542 601 (TeasWeLike Mid Aged Dayi 7542 Quarter Cake Set)

This is the second sample I tired from the now sold out TeasWe Like Mid Aged Dayi 7542 Quarter Cake Set…

Dry leaves have a forest evergreen woody fresh sort of sweet odour to them.  More of a fresher camphor odour to these compared to the 2007.

First infusion has a pond herbal onset with a bit of smoke and woodiness.  There is a faint coolness then even weaker sweetness. Kind of a smoky finish with not that sweet almost fruity.

The second infusion has a rich woody camphor incense onset with a mild bitter coco that is kind of smooth into a caramel taste.  The finish is smoke, woody, and caramel-coco.  This one is much more smoky and maybe more rough than the 2007 but also the sweetness is smoother and rounded caramel.  The mouthfeeling is a mild dry covering.  Qi is mildly alerting.   I can feel it in my head more than my Chest right now.

The third infusion has a woody rich incense that with cooling breath turns into a coco bitter then a creamy sweet taste.  There is a smoky woody finish on the breath.  There is also a bit of sour note somewhere in the mid-profile.  Mild alerting energy.

The fourth infusion has a rich camphor woody onset with a bit of bitter smoking ending.  There is a bit of sour note in there as well as a rougher smoky note.  The mouthfeeling is drying more in the throat than tongue and lips.  The Qi is pushing the mind a bit here.

5^th infusion has a woody incense onset with some mouth cooling then returning to a somewhat creamy sweet bitter taste.  There is a bit of mouthwatering effect and some throat simulating dryness a thin full dry mouthcoating.  Nice full body lift and mid focusing feeling.

6^th has a rich woody incense onset with a smoke finish that turns to a mild creamy sweetness with a bitter gipping throatfeeling.  The sweetness emerges slowly in the aftertaste under a bitter, smoky, woody taste.  The Qi is more focusing than just energizing.

7^th has a rich creamy sweet woody onset with a lesser incense woody herbal base.  There is some flat coco woodiness that comes out now and a flat sweetness and herbal taste later.  The coolness in the mouth is less here.  Nice alerting Qi.

8^th has a rich woody incense taste upfront.  This 2006 is much less sweet than the 2007 and more woody incense smoky and slightly harsher.  The mouthfeelng is not a sticky dry but more of a pure dryness and is more felt in the upper throat and back of the mouth and on the tongue were the 2007 is more on the lips and evenly dispersed throughout the mouth.  Nice uplifting energy.  Less astringent than the 2007 as well.

9^th infusion has a smoky woody a bit rough dry coco woody herbal finish in the mouth.  The smokiness is pretty strong along with the harsher notes gives it an older school and unrefined feeling.  Strong focusing.  The mouthfeeling is quite gripping dry now.  There is some smoke in the mouth even minutes later.

10^th infusion has a woody almost sweet coco herbal smoky onset the sweetness tries to punch through but doesn’t do a good job getting past woody smoke tastes.

11^th is the start of steeping from the next day… I return to the pot with yeasty sweet bready woody tastes. There is a smoother feel now in the mouth not drying and nice uplifting focus.

12^th has more condensed woody incense tastes with a lingering rum barrel whiskey taste to it there are some bready sweet tastes in the finish.

I mug steep out the rest the next day…

It’s a smoky and a bit astringent woody taste with some harsher edges to it and an incense finish.

I have since had more refined and less harsh sessions with this one that are more focused on the caramel tastes a bit more but this one is the most rough out of the bunch.

Peace

2007 Dayi 7542 701 (TeasWeLike Mid Aged Dayi 7542 Quarter Cake Set)

This was the first 7542 quarter cake set ($230.00 for approx.350 g ) available from Teas We Like which followed the sale of a full individual cake of 2005 Menghai Tea Factory 7542 502.  Unfortunately, the set is now sold out but I offer these tasting notes for those who may have purchased the set for comparison and for any future comparison.  I really loved the set, puerh drinkers soul food really, and hope they can offer other curated 7542 sets in the future…

Due to the length of my tasting notes I will publish each quarter of the set individually with a ranking in the last post...

701

Dry leaves smell of woody musty odour.

First infusion has a musty mushroom hay like taste a subtle fishy almost woody mid-profile then a vague sweet finish.  Slight drying mouthfeeling and lips dryness.

Second infusion has a woody straw fishy onset with some flat bitterness and a pop of caramel and subtle breath coolness.  The mouthfeeling is a full fine sticky faint dry pucker with dry lips.  Mild alerting energy with mild energetic Heart beats.

Third infusion has a woody herbal incense onset with some woody almost fishy pond likely storage notes with a flat woody bitter that returns a cooling almost coco caramel sweetness.  A nice full condensed taste with full sticky faint slight pucker dry mouthfeeling.  Nice warming alerting Qi with a sweaty face and some increase Heart beats and increased energy boost.

The 4^th infusion has a rich warming woody herbal dense onset with a woody bitterness to it.  There is a cooling in the mouth and a caramel coco syrupy sweet finish.  The Qi is factory strong but the storage has imparted a warming energy here.  The mouthfeeling is becoming a bit drier and gripping now- full with the condensed tastes and alerting Qi is a solid package.\

5^th infusion has a woody herbal rich dense bitter woody onset with coolness and returning coco caramel herbal woody finish.  Strong Qi quite warming here.  Strong gripping mouthfeeling and even throat gripping but not overly dry.  A bitter almost vegetal herbal taste is left in the mouth minutes later.

6^th infusion has a woody incense rich almost pond bitter strong onset.  Strong Heart racing and alerting surge of energy but still quite warming and inducing a mild sweat.  With a strong cooling mouth and throat the bitter returns a coco than caramel and herbal kind of finish.  Lips, mouth, throat are a bit dry and simulated.

7^th infusion has a woody mushroom hay rich bitterness with some cooling mouth and coco caramel finish.  There is a full dry gripping mouthfeeling and strong alerting Qi.  Some herbal finish in the mouth.  Some mouthwatering saliva that the dry throat pushes out.

8^th is left to cool but gives off a rich woody herbal bitter coco incense the sweetness is more pronounced with the coolness in the aftertaste but with still lots of woody herbal taste, some caramel in the finish.

9^th has a woody rich herbal bitter onset with some cooling mouth coco and caramel taste.  Strong Qi and sweeting.  Nice full dry mouthfeeling.

10^th infusion has a rich woody coco-bitter-wood taste. Strong Qi heart racing.  Tastes stronger and more intense than the 2010 7542 at TeasWeLike.  Lots of rich coco sweetness coming out now.  Strong invigorating Qi.

11^th infusion has a strong rich coco onset bitter-coco-woody slight creamy sweetness like coco.  Nice engaging mouthfeeling on lips, throat, tongue.  Strong Qi.

12^th I come back to the teapot the next day and there is a cup of cold tea left in the cup from the 12^th infusion.  The overnight cup is surprisingly fruity sweet with distinct watermelon candy notes being the strongest with some faint bitterness and a creamy sweet fresher fruity body.  This surprised me a lot.  The mouthfeeling more of a mild full chalky.

13^th infusion comes right from the hot tea pot and has a fresh fruity taste to it mainly with creamy fruity watermelon, candy, and passionfruit tastes.  There is a tiny bit of cooling and some faint background woodiness.  The mouthfeeling is now chalkier.  With a longer creamy fruity aftertaste.  Not any bitter or woody or herbal or coco in these next day infusions.

14^th has a soapy floral sweet creamy custard berry taste to it.  Quite sweet and creamy.  Has a herbal woody base to it with mild bitterness and cooling.  The main taste now is sweet fruity creamy tastes.  There is a smoother chalky mouthfeeling.  The Qi also isn’t as altering in these next day infusions.

15^th infusion has a soapy woody herbal fruity sweet creamy sweet onset.  There is some cooling to follow then a soapy fruity woody finish. Softer chalky mouthfeeling now.  Nice mild alerting.

16^th infusion woody herbal soapy fruity expanding in the aftertaste to almost creamy sweet woody almost camphor finish in the mouth.  The taste is less condensed but strong.  Mild alerting.  Woody camphor finish.

17^th is a woody herbal spicy creamy sweet onset that collides with a bit of cooling to come out as camphor wood with a bit of sweetness and mild bitterness.  I can feel the Heart beats now and moderate alertness.

I mug steep out the rest… woody bitter astringent coco herbal taste with some coolness in the breath and strong alerting and Heart beating.

Overnight infusion is a bit fruity oily woody tasting.

Peace

Teas We Like vs Liquid Proust: 2010 Dayi 7542 001

Teas We Like natural Taiwanese stored offering (purchased for 58.00 a cake but a slightly more aggressively stored version is stillavailable for $75.00 for 357g cake or $0.21/g) is first up…

Dry leaves smell of strong dried longan fruits, raison, and slight smoke.

First infusion has a watery smoky tobacco leaf onset with a slight sweet plum returning after faint flat bitterness.  Flat slightly tight tongue coating.  Lasting bitterness in the mouth.

The second infusion has a woody smoky plum taste with a mild but persistent bitterness that returns some mild sweet plum tastes.  The mouthfeeling is tight.  There are woody metallic tastes in there as well as some creamy sweet tastes as well.  The dominant tastes are bitter with plum and fainter smoky wood.  Strong energetic Qi.

The third infusion has a creamy woody slight smokey bitter-sweetness with a returning plum sweetness.  The bitterness is overarching and a bit acidic in the mouth.  There is a chalky slight tight mouthfeeling over the tongue and mouth.  Minutes later there is some caramel faintness in there under bitterness. Strong Qi.

The fourth infusion has a plum woody onset that transforms into a bitter-sweet taste.  The retuning plum is nice and is paired with a camphor coolness. The mouthfeeling is becoming a thinner tight chalky.  Bitter-sweet taste lingers in the mouth.

The fifth infusion has a sweet creamy sweet and plum onset with woody tastes combining with significant bitterness.  The bitterness lingers and has a bit of puckering tightness to the mouth.  There is a slightly cool throat.  Bread and plum tastes are in the aftertaste minutes later.  Strong alerting energy.

6^th is let to cool luke warm and gives off a tasty melon, plum, almost floral resin woodiness.  There is some mild bitterness and some faint coolness.  It finishes cool and plum over a mild sticky mouthfeeling.  Nice alerting energy.  Lots of sweeter flavours more than bitter here.

7^th has a dark bitter woody taste up front with a darker taste to it.  This infusion is a lot bitterer but also a bit creamy buttery deeper taste to it.  Plum aftertaste.  Sticky mouthfeeling.  Nice alerting energy.

8^th has a sweet onset of melon, sour plum, and sweet plum with a dark coco bittersweetness to it.  This has a nice long coco taste and aftertaste now.  Really delicious over a chalky full mouthfeeling.  Nice alertness.

9^th has a bitter woody smokey taste now with a woody bitter-creamy sweetness.  The bitterness is almost a vegetal bitterness here that you would see in a younger/ less strongly stored 7542.  Nice tight full coating.  Saliva returning creamy coco sweetness.

10^th infusion has that bitter woody smoky vegetal bitterness with a returning breath cooling and bitter-sweetness coco.  Tight mouthfeeling, slight dry.  Strong alerting.  Chocolate coco bitter-sweet aftertaste.

11^th is left to cool and gives a nice coco chocolate bitter a bit of vegetal bitterness, plum, full sticky dry coating on tongue.  Nice cooling afterwards with a nice coco plum mild bitter.  Strong alerting still.

 

Liquid Proust version ($72.00 for 357g cake or $0.20/g

whichis now sold out) is up second and is described by Liquid Proust as “near perfect storage” I believe that it could be Taiwanese dry stored by my notes below…

Dry leaves have a smoky dry woody even faint pear-melon odour.

First infusion has a melon fruity woody smoky watery taste with a cool pungent tingling vibrant finish with smoke and woody taste dominating.  The mouthfeeling is slightly numb tingling.

The second infusion has a quick pear fruity onset that turns to a dry woody smoke, very slight bitter, with a sweet fruity clear pear returning that fades into dry woody smoke.  There is a bit of mild bitter astringency.  Tight slight drying mouthfeeling.

The third infusion has a quick moving fruity pop of taste.  The fruit has a stewed jam like quality like sticky dried longan fruits.  The sweetness has a thick dense syrupiness to it- very full throughout and delivers a certain vibrancy over a slight smoky woody background.  Not much bitterness here, surprisingly sweet.

The 4^th infusion has a syrupy sweet fruity onset with a smoky syrupy dry woody under taste.  The taste is thick and smooth and oily in the mouth with a nice long coolness.  There is lots of syrupy sweetness with a bitter woody smoke underneath- a nice melded and cohesive taste.  Coco aftertaste minutes later.  Sticky mouthcoating.  Strong alertness.  Saliva returning oily sweetness.

5^th infusion has a syrupy fruity sweet taste that has a smoky dry woody long cool pungent taste.  There is some floral melon that is underneath.  There is a nice oiliness to this 7542 over a drier tight mouthfeeling.  There is surprisingly not too much bitterness.

6^th smooth creamy sweet, a bit fruity with mild bitterness.  Nice combo of fruity sweet, coco bittersweet, and creamy bread-like sweetness.  Not much woody or smoke here.

7^th has a creamy fruity pear bread taste with faint bitterness underneath.  The fruitiness returns with coolness and trails out in the breath over a slight tight/ slight dry mouthfeeling.  Nice alertness.  It’s been a very altering kind of day with both of these 2010 7542s!

8^th is cooled down and is a creamy fruity pear chocolate tasting thing.  The taste is really nice and I’m left wondering if this is the most delicious dry stored 7542 I’ve tried.  Bitterness is not as much but faintly there.  Chalky tongue coating.

9^th is a nice mix of fruity sweetness and bitter coco.  This is more fruity and sweet than the Teas We Like version.  There is a nice smoky dry woody finish.

10^th is much the same balance and mix of fruity sweetness and bitter coco.  Still more weight to the sweetness than bitter compared to most 7542 storage.

11^th infusion was left in the cup overnight and I go back to it the next day… it has a resin woody incense woody body with a syrupy sweet fruity finish in the mouth.

The spent leaves of both 7542s are left overnight then mug steeped out the next day... the Teas We Like offering is deep darker bitter with some astringent vegetable bitter taste not that sweet at all and a bit awkward.  The Liquid Proust offering has a sweet fruity vegetable bitterness with a longer cooling with a subtle more flat almost tart smoke to it.  A subtle coco bitterness comes out minutes later.  The Liquid Proust mug steeping is the better tasting and more complex mug.  The Teas We Like has a more peaty taste to it but more cohesive where the Liquid Proust version is more vibrant and changing and compartmentalized in the mug steeping of spent leaves.

Overall, this is an interesting comparison because they are both nicely stored versions of the 7542 but also dramatically different in their strengths.  The Teas We Like offering is the stronger of the two with a stronger, more condensed taste with much more intense bitterness.  The bitter taste is the dominant throughout the session.  There is also much more change from infusion to infusion with the Teas We Like offering- this is how the Teas We Like 7542 is complex.  However, the Teas We Like version has a much more narrow taste profile, less texture, and shorted aftertaste compared to the Liquid Proust version.  The Liquid Proust version is much more sweet and vibrant with much less intense bitterness.  The Liquid Proust 7542 has a thicker more oily texture and longer and more cooling and complex throatfeeling and aftertaste. Overall, they are both really nice versions of 7542!  I love the comparison!

I think that this first version on offer at Teas We Like would be nicer for aged in more humid environments but for my really dry storage that I have here in Canada the Liquid Proust Version would probably age out better for my situation. 

It’s really nice to finally see some genuine interest in the classic 7542 and I hope that both Liquid Proust and Teas We Like will continue to offer affordable 7542.  It looks like Liquid Proust has a 2016 short Natural Hongkong stored version up already.  It looks also like the Remaining Teas We Like 2010 7542s are from a batch with more aggressive storage and are going for $75.00 a cake (so basically paying more for something with a little less power, I imagine).  It is a real issue of great timing in buying 7542 as well as many factory puerh cakes in general.  This is because there is a small window in the life of a semi-aged cake where you can get a feel for how it’s going to age out and you can get a clearer read on how it’s going to age out but once enough people have this knowledge prices can shoot up quickly.  For the 7542 there is also serious speculating that you have to deal with as well- not just the taste experience.  This makes it a continual challenge too for vendors who aim to offer the best 7542 with the best quality because as soon as they find a good batch at a good price quickly it rises in price and no longer becomes worth it.  My hope is that these two vendors will be up for the challenge in the future and continue to offer us ongoing 7542 options!

Peace

Dominant Omicron A Relief For Tea Drinkers

 Honestly,  one of the things I have been most concerned of since the start of the pandemic ( in a trivial sort of way) is getting infected with Covid 19 and loosing my sense of taste and smell.  I have talked to people who make their living from these senses, such as chiefs, and that symptom alone can cause true long term suffering.  

Sometimes the sense of smell and taste can become warped from infection where certain smells and tastes that were once enjoyed are now quite off putting or just not enjoyed in the same capacity.  I have talked to and read about other tea drinkers that claim that their altered sense of smell and taste from Covid infection has changed their tea preferences all together.  I can only imagine how frustrating it would be to amass a large puerh stash to your taste only to be put off completely by that taste after being infected by Covid.  I also wonder, if enough people have a similar altered taste, will some puerh cakes that were not as desirable become more desirable?  Not sure if it works that way.  Will a puerh drinker who is infected always have inferior ability to select puerh compared compared to those not infected?  This very recent article in the journal Nature surveyed the science behind it and it sure got me thinking of all this stuff.  The amount of people with long term dysfunction is startlingly high to me!  For drinkers and connoisseurs of puerh, regardless of what your position is on the pandemic, this is concerning.

Anyways, we puerh drinkers can breathe a sigh of relief as the Omicron Variant becomes dominant worldwide.  Not only, and most importantly, it is much less fatal and causes much less serious illness.  But particularly of interest to those who indulge in the sensory pleasures of puerh, infection from Omicron has shown to effect taste and smell way way less than previous variants- it’s actually considered a “rare symptom” of Omicron.  No doubt a relief to puerh drinkers worldwide… in a trivial kind of way… 

Peace