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

2007 Xizi Hao Diangu: Drinking Power Perfume !?!

This past week I took 3 days to sample through Xizi Hao’s Diangu offerings 2007, 2008, and 2009. Due to my always way too long tasting notes I will break them into separate posts with the 2009 post having a bit of an overview.  It ended up being a crazy life altering week… because Diangu is kinda like that…

The first is my last sample from Houde.  It’s a 100% Houde Houston stored cake.  The 2007 Zixi Hao Diangu sold out last yearfor $495.00 for 450g large cake.  It is a much talked about and beloved cake of Shah8 so, it’s something we’ve all read about for years…

Dry leaves have a strong cardboard odour with a piercing nectar odour.

The first infusion has a vibrant powdery talc and perfume floral odour to it with a base of hongcha nuance similar but not exactly what you could taste from Tea Urchin’s storage perhaps? There is a metallic almost bitterness underneath and some nutty tastes.  The creamy sweetness is fluffy and cotton candy tasting thing.  Long creamy sweetness with a tight full and loosely salivating sensation.  Complex full dump of taste in its brilliant dry storage.  Nice focusing energy.

The second infusion has a very thick perfume talc and woody presentation.  The mouthfeeling is strong and puckering fine sand.  There is this floral talc cherry very perfume presentation.  This is a very unique tasting and feeling puerh. There is a strong heavy chest bodyfeeling and a wandering, unhinged mind feeling.  Nice wood perfume and floral finish over a talc and creamy sweet base.  Strong deflating balloon bodyfeeling.

The third infusion has a metallic perfume dense and thick layered woody presentation with heavy, essential oil based, perfume fragrances, flower shop taste.  There is a bitter base taste and a woody vegetal base.  Strong Qi makes me feel like I’m leaving my body.  This is a really strong tea that needs more aging still.  It’s a bit rough on the Stomach still.  There is a bitter woody floral talc taste in the mouth many minutes later.  Strong Chest heaviness and Heart racing with out of body feeling.

The 4^th infusion is left to cool… it gives off a very dry woody, kind of weedy bitter, but heavy perfume-floral finish.  There is a cooling almost minty rosehips and woody base.  That minty woody taste extends into the aftertaste.  This is a very unique and unusual tasting puerh.  The mouthfeeling is a sticky fine sandy pucker.  The Qi is full of strong bodyfeelings in the Chest and Heart and a floating mind, unhinged feeling. Powerful Qi.

The 5^th has a strong woody minty onset with a heavy thick perfume presence.  There is a heavy bitter minty woody perfume dense onset that keeps its form even through the aftertaste.  There is almost an overly soapy perfume taste to it like eating a bar or perfume bar soap.  Strong Chesty Qi bodyfeeling and some face sensations too- very strong. 

6^th is left to cool… it has a strong red tea note with woody minty bitterness.  The mouthfeeling is gripping.  There is less perfume but still quite a bit.  A tingling tongue sensation is very nice.  Long profile throughout.

7^th has a woody sour rosehips perfume woody bitter onset.  The taste comes at once initially then just stays long on the breath without returning, changing too much.  Like being hit by one big wave of flavour.  Qi in Chest and Heart.  Nice floating mind feeling.

8^th has a cherry perfume woody bitter vegetal onset there are some faint spicy notes in there a bit this infusion.  A flat wave of dense flavour that goes straight to the aftertaste.  No returning sweetness or ebb and flow to it, just a wall of tastes.  Soapy perfume nuances as well.  Dry full mild gripping mouthfeeing.  Flat single note with no separation of initial tastes, secondary tastes, coolness then returning sweetness.  That along with the insanely strong Qi feels maybe more like a wild tea or Mu Shu Cha type or varietal than standard puerh type of thing to me.

9^th has a woody almost medicinal minty bitters woody perfume taste.  The dense taste holds into the aftertaste. 

10^th is left to cool and gives off a medicinal minty soap- floral bitter heavy perfume wood taste.  There is some red tea note in there.  The mouthfeeling is flattening out and is a dry slight puckering slight fine sandy feeling.  The Qi is still in the Chest and floats the mind but less strong now.  The Qi has now pretty much rendered me useless and staring at the walls… stupefying Qi knocks me out hard…

11^th is left to cool and offers a woody bitter floral experience.  The taste of this puerh is dense but narrow and steadfast in its consistency and shows its single origin pedigree.  Nice flat full thin sandy slightly gripping mouthfeelng.  Nice spacy Qi now.

12^th has a more perfume taste with less bitter woodiness.  There is a more floral feel to it here with some orange peel tastes in there as well.  Nice floating feeling.

13^th has a bitter woody floral perfume onset.  Nice full, flat fine sandy slight gripping mouthfeeling.  Some minty medicinal tastes in there as well.  Nice floating.  Nice full fine sandy slightly gripping mouthfeeling.  There is a more vegetal type of bitterness in here.  This tea has good stamina and feels like it could just go on forever like this…

14^th has a rich bitter woods floral perfume taste.  There is a bit more richness in this infusion … bitter woody perfume floral … so consistent and still very intense… strong Chest Qi here.

Wow… a really good start to the tasting…

Peace

2007 Wistaria Lan Yin (Blue Mark): Brilliant Power

This is one of the more famous Wistaria productions.  A cake goes for approx $183.00 for 357g cake (or $0.51/g).  This is a famous cake that is named and modelled after a really famous cake, the 1950s Blue Mark … This review follows my review of the 2007 Wistaria Hong Yin (Red Mark).

Dry leaves smell of sweet vegetal almost pondy/fishiness.

The first infusion has a watery bitter flat taste with some vegetal and subtle creaminess underneath.  It has a flat metallic finish almost sweet melon in the aftertaste.  The mouthcoating is silky and very soft but full in the mouth.

The second infusion has a woody soft bitter and sweet creamy vegetal taste up front.  The woody bitterness has a mild gripping while the sweet creamy vegetal almost melon taste is soft and soothing.  There is an apparent balance of strength and softness apparent in this subtly.  The mouthfeeling and throatfeeling are really nice thick simulating silky soft and deeper in the throat with a long faint cooling and melon sweet returning.  Shoulder releasing Qi. Strong clear body effect. The bitterness is such that it is long and you can taste it in the mouth minutes later.  Relaxing almost sedating mind.

The third has a bitter woody almost coco and sort of tart cherry onset that carries a silky full mouthfeeling and a deep cooling throat sensation.  There is a soft gripping feeling in the mouth. A creamy woody mainly bitter almost melon.  There is a real strong spacy-ness to the Qi as well as a shoulder and neck releasing disjoining feeling bodyfeel.  This bodyfeeling is strong, a tension buster in the muscles. Strong Qi.  This is a strong puerh through and through.  The bitterness and slight sweet balance, storage, and age remind me a lot of the 2001 Huang Yin from Teas We Like I grandpa steeped yesterday.  This puerh is much much more complex than this and has a much different Qi profile and mouthfeeling.  There is something similar though in its taste a bit.

The fourth has a tart berry/cherry onset with a bitter woody depth.  There is a silky, full, gripping mouthfeeling with a deep cooling throatfeeling.  There is a creamy almost melon and bitter aftertaste.  The softness of the creamy melon taste is opposed to the bitter.  The Qi is really big and pushes one into a stoned state with strong upperbody release and floating shoulders to the ears feeling.  Spacy but intense Qi.  The bitterness really simulates the throat to salivate.  So powerful.

The fifth infusion is cooled down now and tastes of maple woody, moderate long bitterness, with a barely bready sweetness and deep cool throat.  Silky silty smooth mouthfeeling.  Deeply spacy Qi.

The sixth infusion has a watery vegetal almost creamy sweetness with a more mild bitterness now.  The bitterness is still long.  The creamy sweetness is a bit more here, it is fluffy and chalky in the mouth now that the bitterness has receded.  Spacy Qi.

7^th has a tangy fruity onset with an expanding bitterness and wood.  There is still deep pungent tastes and a returning fruity subtle bitter taste.  Deeply relaxing now. Not as full thin silty mouthfeeling.

8^th infusion has a tangy fruity woody sweetness with a moderate creamy retuning sweetness that comes with deep pungent throat.

9^th has a woody almost incense bitter not that sweet presentation.  Bland vegetal woody aftertaste.  This puerh has flattened out here.

10^th a fruity faint papery faint taste begins with a faint background bitterness that finishes sandy thin fine flat in the mouth.  The deep throat sensation of cool is less now and the aftertaste is very faint ghostly fruits.

11^th is a longer 30 second steep and pushes out a bitter woody tart almost-not –really fruity sweetness.  There is a chalky aged vegetal finish.  Qi is mainly relaxing here.

12^th is a minute long steeping and pushes out tart cherry bitterness with layers of dry woody and faint cool deep throat sensations.  The bitterness dominates here and is very long in the mouth.  This is overall a strong bitter Qi heavy puerh.

I mug steep it out…

Overall, this is a really powerful puerh with very good powerful and unique bodyfeeling of upper body tension release in the muscles.  While the Qi sensation in the mind is equally powerful and pushes you into an immediate stoned state.  The taste is super interesting too with a dance of subtle gentle sweet notes that slowly get overtaken by the strong bitter profile but by the time they do you are completely entranced by the stoner Qi that you strangely embrace the power.  I like this a lot.  It is definitely more brilliant than the early reviews suggests as many of these compare it to Dayi.  This is only Dayi in its bitterness that’s it.  It’s much more than Dayi.  Definitely the strongest Qi of all the Wistaria puerh I sampled in the group.  The downfall is both its weaker throatfeeling and not so great stamina.

How does this compare to older puerh styles…. This one has a Qi that I think would be typical or valued in older style puerh and it also has the bitter backbone as well.  In this way, this puerh could be considered comparable to older style puerh, I think.

Marco’s (Late Steeps) Tasting Notes

Hobbes’ (The Half-Dipper) Tasting Notes

James’ (TeaDB) Tasting Notes From Drinking Report

Shah8’s Tasting Notes

Peace

2007 Wistaria Hong Yin (Red Mark): Sweet Complexities

This is one of the more famous Wistaria productions.  A cake goes for approx

$243.00 for 357g cake(or $0.68/g).  This is a famous cake that is named and modeled after a really famous cake, the 1950s Red Mark…

The dry leaves smell of very sweet cake and creamy caramel with a distant pondy like odour underneath.  Vibrant, mouthwateringly tasty, and sweet smelling.

First infusion has a smooth creamy approach with a slight sugary sweet base with slight woody taste and an almost dry woody incense finish with a pond and dry wood bark aftertaste.  The thin sugary sweetness is long in the profile but drops quickly in the aftertaste.  The mouthfeeling in a thin soft silky mouthcoating with a slight open throat.

The second infusion has a sugary sweet onset with dry wood base this time with more substantial smokiness that follows.  There is a smooth rich sweet smoky finish with a bit of pondy taste.  The mouthfeeling is thicker and more gripping and full now.  The Qi is strong in the mind and opening in the chest here.

The third infusion has a thick rich sweet sugary and thick woody presentation with a full woody thickness in the mouth.  There is a returning sugar taste with distinct moderate smoke.  Thick mouthfeeling with open top throat.  Strong powerful energy push and full woody feeling in mouth with strong heady Qi and open chest body feeling.  It has a strange Yi Wu/ Man Zhuan vibe to it.

The fourth infusion has a perfume with sweet sugar plum and fruity onset.  There are nuances of cake, plum, figs, and apricot, a nice fruity and complex sweet feeling with some chalky mouthfeeling.  There is a nice faint smoke underneath with a sweet taste left in the mouth.  Overall, quite sweet with a bit of woody, perfume and smoke to add contrast and complexity.  Nice mind focusing Qi.

The fifth infusion has a quick faint smoke with a strong sweet fruitiness.  There is a chalky mouth coating and faint smoky finish.  There are some woody nuances but overall nicely sweet and full feeling.  A bit of Heart racing and numb face sensations.  Stronger focusing Qi now and developing bodyfeelings.

The sixth infusion pretty fruity sweet onset with a nice juicy peachy and plum tastes almost creamy sweet with faint wood with some wood underneath.  The smoke can’t be detected in this infusion.  A nice thin chalky mouthfeeling with open top throat a tiny bit of returning sweetness. Nice heady and relaxing Qi.  The Qi of the body and mind are very nice.

The seventh infusion has a fruity plum and apricot that turns into a creamy peachy sweetness on the breath. The cooled cup is very creamy and fruity with a faint smoke with a woody background.  The sweet and fruity tastes are really supported by a thicker feeling in the mouth.  Nice relaxing Qi.

The 8^th infusion has a creamy peach sweetness with dry woody over a chalky mouthfeeling.  The Qi is almost spacy and hypnotic now.

The 9^th infusion is a watery woody slight smoky onset with some sugary faint aftertaste under a smoky woody taste.  The mouthfeeling has thinned out considerably and so has the taste.

The 10^th has a pear fruity flat woody taste now.  The mouthfeel is flat and dry and aftertaste is faint.  Some pond, presumably storage aftertastes. Not that sweet anymore.

I go to a mug steeping now…

The mug steeps are very pungent resin with a woody light bitter incense no sweetness left. Kind of a spacy relaxing Qi.

Overall, this puerh has a very layered, full, and complex sweet presentation with woody, incense, resin, and smoke to provide contrast, balance and depth.  The sweet thick tastes in these first infusions are very nice.  The Qi comes fast and strong but after the first handful of infusions is really relaxing and stoning.  The Qi is also quite memorable.  The aftertaste and throat feeling is the weakest point of this puerh as well as its stamina.  I liked this puerh a lot but the lack of stamina makes me weigh a purchase…

How would I compare this to older style puerh cakes … well this is the only puerh I sampled out of the Wistaria bunch that hardly resembles old style puerh at all.  It’s too clean and elegant for this comparison.  It’s only closeness is in Qi.  To me this has a feeling of Taiwanese boutique puerh or maybe even closer to the newer style factories that were coming out of China in the mid aughts like Douji and Chenshenghao.  I guess it makes a lot of sense that Chang Tai helped produce this puerh because it kind of has that vibe to it… but it’s just really good, much better than any Changtai I have tried.

Jakob’s (T) Tasting Notes

James (TeaDB) Drinking Report notes and newer tasting notes

Shah8’s Tasting Notes

Peace

2007 CNNP Peacock: Can’t Beat This Unique $40.00 Cake!

Stephane of Teamasters has kindly been sending me samples once every few years since he opened his webstore way back then.  Before the webstore he was one of the first English/ French tea bloggers and he’s still going strong- Thanks Stephane.  I thought I would include this “pre-COVID 19” note he sent with the samples.  It’s interesting how even a note this simple is so obviously before the virus really swept the world.  Nowadays even the simplest communications will look and feel much different than this innocent letter.  I got lots of emails from people thanking me about the recommendation of the classic Meaghai, more aged, and dirt tasting 2003 Zhongcha that Stephane used to sell for $60.00.  Its one of the puerh I have drank the most of in the past 3 years.  I think Stephane was most excited about what I thought about his new budget puerh find, this 2007 CNNP Peacock which he sells for $40.00 for a full 357g cake (or $0.11/g)…

Dry leaves both exceed expectations of look and smell.  They smell rich and velvet with a very creamy sweet aroma.  There is a suggestion of hay and wood and chocolate but mainly woody sweetness.  The leaves smell of moderate humid storage.

First infusion has a nice creamy woody and very nutty camphor wood taste.  There is a bitter suggestion and a soapy taste.  The camphor aftertaste combines with subtle bitter in a full and rich feeling and mouthcoating.

The second infusion start off like sweet peanuts, a nutty sweetness with a creamy sweet and rich taste presentation that turns into a camphor taste and a sweet thrills gum kind of soapiness.  There is a pretty distinct nutty flavor as well as a touch licorice.  This blend seems to have a fair amount of Lincang material in it I would guess.  The mouthfeeling is full and slippery feeling.  The throat has an upper opening feeling where camphor lingers.  The feeling of this puerh is more aged than its 2007 pedigree suggests due to its moderately humid likely Taiwanese storage.

The third infusion starts with a sunny orangey woody tangy resin wood like sweetness very similar to the 2003 Hong Kong Henry 7542 Consciousness Prescription in taste here.  Then comes a very peanut nutty sweetness.  Then a creamy woody tangy finish.  The sweet taste is like Mandarin oranges.  There is a subtle soapy sweet Thrills gum like retuning sweetness.  Overall the taste is very rich and robust tasting with clear flavours.  The Qi of this tea is a touch warming and mild- a comforting tea on this rainy spring day.

The fourth infusion has a more basic woody onset with orange peel nuances coming later.  There is less nutty sweetness here but a low camphor taste that comes out.  There is a floral woody finish almost soapy perfume aftertaste that is quite enjoyable.

The fifth has a resin woody taste with a creamy citrus peel nuance.  The taste is less rich and full now but the camphor still comes in low and pushes out perfume soap and essential oil of citrus finish on breath.  This puerh is now less slippery and full in the mouth but is still a slippery mouthfeeling.  A smooth taste overall.

The 6^th has a woody soapy resin perfume with less thickness in the mouth and less cooling camphor now.  The perfume taste suggests that it should be semi-aged but the smooth soothing base taste feels like it’s closer to early 2000s aged.  The feel in the body is also very mellow and aged feeling.

7^th has a watery woody almost pond and fallen leaf but more rich watery aged taste.  There is a resin taste to it, and nice smooth flavor with a citrus peel taste and slight camphor going towards coco in the aftertaste with perfume nuances.  Smooth taste and feel and qi.

8^th has a 30 second steeping and it pulls out a thicker creamier and a slight nutty taste there is a bit of sour zest and woodiness.  The perfume and citrus peel tastes which make this puerh so interesting are very faint now.

I push this into a very long mug steeping and mainly dirt and woody tastes remain.

Overall, this is a really interesting, a bit unique, and pretty enjoyable semi-aged sheng.  The big downfall is the stamina which is maybe a bit less than even the most factory puerh but the first few infusions are interestingly delicious.  This puerh is interesting to be because of its super fragrant distinct strong perfume, Thrills Gum-like aftertaste which is something you would expect in a semiaged puerh or something even younger than its 2007 pedigree suggest.  However, this fragrant essential oil like aftertaste is juxtaposed with a deep aged taste and smooth feeling that you would get from something more aged due to its moderately humid Taiwanese storage.  There are some larger leaf in the plantation blend which seem to add to the depth of this puerh.  I would guess this is a blend of Northern puerh- Lincang and Simao.  The orange peel/ citrus taste with a strong woody resin initially reminds me a lot of 2003 Hong Kong Henry 7542 “ConscientiousPrescription”.  Although this 2007 CNNP Peacock is not as strong, deep, or as oily.  I’m not sure I have ever had that distinct resin with orange taste before the 2003.

Anyways, this cake is quite interesting for a $40.00 sheng 357g cake.  Its uniqueness reminds me of another CNNP production of the same year which also has an interesting profile- this 8891 Red Label.  Haven’t tried that one but it’s been popular as a unique drinker puerh and used to sell for closer to the Peacock’s pricing before it doubled.  I enjoyed it a lot and I think you will too.  Cheers to Stephane of Teamasters for sourcing this affordable one for us!

Peace

2007 Yang Qing Hao Huangshan Lingya Makes Me Feel Happy

First, I can't really say enough good things about Emmett Guzman, the man who has made Yang Qing Hao so accessible to us.  He offers us all this for very little.  He even picked up the difference in my shipping last order when he quoted me wrong- what a classy guy.  I have the highest respect for him.  Although I have never ever done this before- I asked him to send some samples , if possible, in my first order with him.  In my order was a single sample of this 2007 YangQingHao Huangshan Lingya .  No blogger premiums here people, just respect, and I like it... hahahaha.

This puerh is a popular one for the mid-low priced YangQingHao offerings.  I appreciate the sample because it is one of the YangQingHao offerings that I was considering a possible blind buy in the future.  If you were to purchase this puerh, the full 400g cake would cost you $165.00 ($0.41/gram).  According to what I was reading online, this cake seems to be gaining popularity in Western circles.

Let's samples this one...

The dry leaves smell of distant forest, with faint odours of decomposing cedar and distant floral.

First infusion delivers a crisp wood taste over faint florals and fruits.  The wood taste remains the dominant base flavor which the soft, distant florals and plum tastes slowly and evolve.  The mouthfeel is sliglthy tingling and soft and nicely coats the mouth.

The second infusion the woody flavor is more pronounced and fills the mouth significantly the softer notes of floral and plum are barely noticeable and barely reside on the breath.  The returning sweet coolness in the breath is mild.  The aged woody taste is dominant.  The qi of this tea is nice and makes the head feel both significantly floaing and foggy but alert.

The third infusion is much the same but the coolness on the breath becomes more as the throatfeel is more obvious now.  Wood over aged wood tastes.  The mouthfeel is still quite astringent but without drying.

In the fourth infusion the mouthfeel really starts to stick to the teeth.  Aged wood over wood is the theme here.  There is an initial juiciness where fruit seems like its going to push through but then it submits to aged wood tastes.  The qi is a good one- nice interplay of crisp alerting and increase attention along with slight floaty relaxation.  I can really notice the heart pumping away in the chest.  The fruit and floral are almost gone in the aftertaste now.  There is something in there minutes later on the breath but very distant.

The fifth infusion presents with indications of plum and even spice but is quickly whisked away to wood tastes.  There is a slight salty-meatiness in there as well now.  The mouthfeel is quite pleasant and the throat feel goes to the middle but is mildly stimulating there.  The qi is nicely powerful.  I feel as though I am quite strung out on this tea- I truly feel high.  I feel the need to slow down these rapid infusions and take some breaths.

The sixth infusion is very identical to the fifth.  Some slight wildflower note manages to push through in the initial taste and even later on the breath.

The seventh and eighth infusion has a slightly licorice taste in the aftertaste over the wood and barely floral.  As my notes indicate, this is not a terribly complex or deep flavored tea.  It is clean and simple tasting of mainly common aged wood taste with slight and very brief tweeks of taste along the way.  This is not a tasters tea but rather one for the qi.  On the downside my body is a touch sensitive to this tea.

The ninth and tenth offers mild mouthfeel with wood aged taste very simple and not much left now.  There is a slight coolness with very distant suggestions of fruit and wildflowers.  An interesting Chinese yam taste pops up in the tenth infusion and lingers for a few seconds.

This tea is steeped in this manner only yielding simple woody notes from the eleventh onwards.

Overnight steeping brings out nice juicy Asian pear notes very yummy suggesting it could have gone longer.

For my second session.  I use up the rest of the dry leaves sample, it is a little less then I would normally use in this pot but not significantly.  I confirm the following conclusion about this tea:

1-      In the first infusions, juicier fruit tastes over a bitter dry wood taste with mild cooling sensation in the mouth afterwards.

2-      In the middle infusions, smooth woody, astringent, and slightly bitter taste with just a slight cooling in the aftertaste.

3-      In the later infusions, the taste is much the same but too watery now a nice juicy throatfeel holds a ball of saliva and in it very woody tastes. Nice.

4-      In the very late infusion, this tea is watery, woody, one dimensional, slightly astringent, mildly bitter.  Interesting to note is that the Qi sensation in these longer and lower leaf steepings is still noticeable and even stronger than some full sessions of other teas using much more leaf.

5-      Didn’t get any unusual allergic reaction from using lesser leaf.

Overall, I can’t see myself ordering this tea.  I understand that it is a pretty decent puerh for the price but I would rather spend a bit more for something a bit more interesting from Yang Qing Hao or if I'm looking for power and strength go for the 2007 Huangshan Qizhong. For those that enjoy a nice balance of milder, mainly fruity wood Yiwu and want a full strung out qi sensation someone could easily purchase one of these 2007 Huangshan Lingya and be quite tea stoned and happy with their purchase.  This tea has a little strength and depth in its astringency and subtle bitterness but nice Yiwu suggestions in taste.  The days I did sample this tea I felt absolutely vibrant for the remainder of the day and I’m pretty sure the tea had something to do with it.  It has a really happy qi profile which I like.

When I write it out like that, it makes me wonder why I am not going for a cake of this....

James' (TeaDB) Tasting Notes (early and recent)
Steepster Tasting Notes

Peace

The “New” Menghai Factory 2007 Recipes Meant for Dry Storage -2007 Menghai 0712, 0752, 0772 Recipes

In 2007 Menghai released a bunch of new recipes and used the Old School numerical system to appropriately number them.  I believe 2007 was the only year these “07” recipes were released.  I remember seeing them in the shops in Korea in 2007/2008 but I don’t think I ever tried them.  Currently, Tuo Cha Tea sells three of these which are still currently available (0712 $36.00 for 357g cake or $0.10/g, 0752$35.00 for 400g cake or $0.09/g , and 0772 for $32.00 for 400g cake or  $0.08/g). Yunnan Sourcing also carries the 0772 for $40.00.

Are you ready to try some Menghai Factory recipes that seem to be totally overlooked?

“0712”

Dry leaves smell of faint distant fruits and deep fresh vegetal notes.

First infusion sends flat, watery, slightly bitter, slightly sour, but nice and creamy fruit notes and dry wood notes into the mouth.  A mild caramel sweetness appears as well.  There is a simple, sharp vegetal feel to the tea- the taste is not long or strong.  A mild cooling appears in the breath with a slightly longan fruit taste.  Overall the taste is nice especially fruit taste which is dominant here and develops nicely over the mouthfeel which makes the tongue tingle.  The qi is strongly alerting.

The second infusion consists of a slightly tart, creamy sweet initial taste, a mild sour middle taste, and a sweet fruit finish.  There are edges of dry wood and sweet fruit in the profile throughout.  The tongue tingles and has a slightly dry and full mouthfeeling and even mild upper throat feeling.  The qi is still too strong on the stomach to drink this tea on a regular basis, it needs a few more years of storage.  This tea has very contained flavours which are not expansive nor complimentary but they are nice and clear and crisp.

The third infusion delivers smoother, less harsh fruit taste.  The initial taste becomes more fruity, if not mildly bitter, and the aftertaste becomes more dry wood now.  There is a nice bright cherry fruit edge to this tea as well as a stronger slight bitter astringency.  The fruit taste becomes long in this infusion with a slight minty coolness.

The fourth offers more in the way of fruitier tastes the bitter and wood tastes now fade a touch allowing for the cherry fruit to be the dominant flavor if steeped lightly.  If steeped more aggressively you will still get a measure of astringent bitter that seems to like to uproot cherry tastes in the profile, either way.  The tastes are simple, singular, and tight.

The fifth has the same but a longer cooler aftertaste now over a mouthfeel of soft and just slightly astringent coating.  The cooling lasts a while on the breath as does a nice cherry powdery taste.  The cherry taste is quite nice here.

The sixth has deeper, almost smokey, woody tastes up front which stretch through the profile of this steeping.  The strong cherry tastes of last infusion more linger in the background now.  The slightly astringent mouthfeel and throatfeel are not too much but root singular flavours firmly in their place.  A returning sweetness is slightly cooling, slighty sweet with a touch of powdery cherry taste.

The seveth becomes more harmonious mx of flavours with dry wood and soft cherry and a general slight woody forest feel now seen for the first time here. 

The eighth and ninth is much the same with a slight coco almost milky slight foresty bitterness that reminds me of Bulang.  The taste profile is very simple.  A cooling sensation is mild on the breath.

The next few infusions don’t hold much more than dry, flat, woody tastes with a barely noticeable cooling aftertaste. 

This tea overall has a standard taste and feel of decent young Menghai Factory puerh.  It still has a great deal of strength in this recipe and needs to age more to be drinkable.  I image this turning out to be a nice standard factory tippy blended tea with another 5 years of dry storage.

"0752"

Dry leaves smell of pungent, deep forest with a slight plum edge.

First infusion is of simple sweet melon tastes, crisp wood that evolves into a deeper cane sugar sweetness and metallic taste.  There is a subtle sour taste throughtout in this first infusion.  There is also a very faint smoke which adds a nice element to the taste.  The aftertaste is slightly cooling, and again clear and almost metallic and apple sweetness.  This first infusion is quite flavourful and has a nuanced layering of different flavours. 

The second infusion is a clear almost absent initial taste that has that same simple sweet onset.  There is flat metallic, dry wood, taste that evolves into a sweet green bean taste in the aftertaste along with a very mild coolness.  There are mild flashes of different faint fruit tastes as well.  Overall, the taste is very clear, pure, but a little lacking.  Some sessions I’ve had turn into a dirty turbid taste here where others do not.  The mouthfeel is quite weak and this is probably why.

The third has a flat single barely wood note than immediately interfaces to a sweet metallic cherry note which fades fast in the mouth.  The mouthfeel becomes just slightly sticky here.  The aftertaste is short and tastes of cherry fruit.  The qi is a very standard alertness.  There is definitely some qi that lingers in the chest opening it slightly.

The fourth has a medicinal onset turning into slight dry wood and then into a barely sweet aftertaste.  There are notes of beans and very mild cherry- more of a choke cherry finish.  The mouthfeel is weak but getting stronger, and is mainly dry and mostly covering the front of the tongue.  There is a very faint, lingering bubble gum and rubbery sweetness that lingers minutes later.

The fifth infusion has a medicinal wood start but the sweet rubbery bubble gum sweetness now lingers throughout the profile.  This note is really not very sweet but noticeable.  The taste profile of this tea is narrow but clear.  The body and mind feel slightly spacy on this tea but the feeling is good… a good spacy qi feeling.

The sixth infusion delivers a metallic sweet profile throughout over a barely medicinal and crisp newly chopped wood taste.  The sweetness swells slightly into a cherry taste in the aftertaste.

The seventh has a tight metallic, sweet, dry woody and slight medicinal taste.  There is still a slight cooling in the breath and slight edge of bubble gum sweetness.

The eighth loses a bit of the sweet flavors, metallic flavours, and medicinal flavours and is more of a thin woody taste with a slight cherry and cooling aftertaste.

The ninth becomes smoother and more round with slightly creamier malty fruit cherry tastes over a thin wood and bean base.  The initial taste is more full in the mouth here and the tastes mingle together much better now.

The tenth starts with sweet clean clear cherry note which lingers throughout the profile.  The taste is light, clear, crisp, and slightly sweet.  This tea is enjoyable and takes a while to get going.  The mouthfeel is now much fuller and leaves a slightly dry and slightly sticky coating on the tongue and even upper throat.  A gummy, rubbery cherry sweetness is left on the breath minutes later.

The eleventh is much the same, quite enjoyable here still a slight coolness in throat.  The sweet taste is now like an icing sugar sweetness with a nice bean and wood barely noticeable base taste.

The twelfth is much the same still quite vibrant, tasty and sweet.  The mouthfeel and throatfeel is a really slow buildup for this tea but now feels nice as flavours layer over top.

The thirteenth still has a long icing sugar and cherry sweetness over wood and slight metallic and flat wood tastes.

The tea is consumed like this for a few more sessions retaining a mild sweet cherry taste.

This tea’s taste is good but overall to muted and weak with still a predominant bitterness apparent.  My wife happen to try some of this tea and exclaims, “This tea is NOT good.”  When this tea is brewed in our large Yixing pot it pours too slowly and pulls too much bitter and dry wood out of the leaves.  Flash infusions from a small teapot deliver more enjoyable tastes. 

It seems like it should be good but its profile is really just too thin to do anything super interesting.  What is best about this tea is the later steeps.

"0772"

The dry leaves smell of distant forest- slight sweet and dry grassy crispness.

The first infusion delivers brisk clean fresh pine/ wood notes along with a slight edge of plums.  The taste is really clean and simple fresh wood and plums in a thin but lightly and airy mouthfeel.  The clean fruit taste strings out faintly on the breath.

The second is much the same with clean tight notes of slight wood to start then it now evolves in to a much longer and defined cherry/ plum taste with just an edge of cool sweetness.  I am already surprised by this puerh- its good.  Its sweetness is fairly strong here and feels like it sticks to the teeth and sides of the mouth.  The qi is clean and offers a clean head feeling, alerting but not overly so.

The third infusion is much the same very clean, crisp, clear, long, simple profile.  There is a certain completeness about this tea that I really like.  It starts with slight wood then is whisked away by long slightly cooling cherry fruits.  The mouthfeel feel is full, thin but has a light airy, satisfying stimulation.  It seems to softly open the upper and even mid throat.  A sweet almost tart cherry is left in the mouth minutes later.

The fourth infusion has a more of a creamier taste trying to attach itself to the long sweet profile of this tea.  The aftertaste becomes a bit rubbery even metallic tasting.  This infusion is a long line of clean cherry tastes.

In the fifth infusion the light, fresh, newly chopped wood taste shares equal space with the sweetness which becomes less vibrant here but just as long.  The rubbery and metallic taste remains in the mouth.  The tea’s qi brings a nice clean clarity to the mind, it seems to effect the body much less.

The sixth infusion is a nice, simple slight woody and watery slight fruit taste.  Traces of cherry fruit linger on the breath.

The seventh gets a bit woodier with a crisp clean cherry finish.  What this tea lacks in depth it makes up for in its simple and clean taste.  The fruity finish starts to kick up tropical fruit tastes on the breath here adding a bit more complexity to the finish.

The eighth gets more woody and flat in the initial taste where the aftertaste continues to offer nice clean sweet taste and slightly cooling aftertaste.

The ninth and tenth and eleventh have a nice long sweet and now even flowery sweet taste.  It taste like green grapes, a nice flavor nuance.  The wood taste is almost non-existent here so long sweet tastes rule. 

The 07 series recipes seem to be designed especially for dry storage and seem to thrive in those conditions.  They all have a clean newly chopped woody feel and crisp cherry fruit taste profile to them.  They all have a similar mouthfeel, taste profile and even Qi feeling.  These tastes remind me of the dry stored mainly 7542 recipes of the 90s that I tried 10-15 years later if you were to completely drop off the deeper base flavor, thin out the mouthfeel, and string out the high fruit note...  Hahahaha… maybe that’s too much of a stretch.  Although these recipes are way simpler in taste, they all have that resemblance.

Out of the three 07 recipes I seem to be drinking the 0712 the most but don’t intend to re-order any of these.

Peace