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

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

… It Might Be A Fake…

It turns out my last post on the famous 2001 Menghai TeaFactory 7542 “Simplified Yun” has generated quite a buzz.  It has been drawn to my attention that it is possible that it is a fake.  I was sent an email by someone who knows quite a bit about aged puerh but who wishes to remain anonymous and is by no means an authority on the issue.  He told me that there is a discussion doing on somewhere on the internet (which I generally stay away from but which has amassed an unusually large amounts of views) weather the cake is instead a CNNP or private label and not in fact a true Menghai Tea Factory.  He said that there are a few things that would lead to his suspicion although he could not draw a definite conclusion:

1-      This is a commonly fakes cake because of its market value

2-      It is missing a niefi

I pulled up Marco’s post on this batch and also noticed that my bing hole is centered where his is not.  Also the inside of my binghole is really slanted and uneven and jagged.  You can also see in his phots that his neifi is not tightly attached to the cake- its just hanging in by a few errant dry leaves.  Its possible that mine fell out at some point before making its way to me.  The loose or barely hanging in there neifi is not that uncommon for a cake but it also can indicate a fake.

In the original post I draw on some of my experience with some other famous 7542 recipes such as the 88’ Qingbing to link this 2001 7542 to others as I can see a commonality between them.  Also I had admitted that it is by far the best Hong Kong stored cake I have tried to date.  These things I know for sure as they are based on my own experiences.  My notes also sound somewhat similar to Marco’s assessment of his cake.  Although I find these irregularities odd, I myself have not jumped to the end conclusion that this is a fake although the likelihood that it might be a fake is more likely.   Or if it is a fake, it has satisfied me sufficiently for the price I have paid for it.  I mean of course it might have cost me a few hundred dollars less if it was a CNNP or well done fake. Therefore, I have not contacted Teas We Like for a refund.  Why?

I have been around long enough to know that the questioning of the providence of aged puerh in the West is nothing new.  It is much easier to spot a fake in a fresh puerh.  However, as puerh ages, it changes so much that it begins to become harder to authenticate.  The changes from different aging can also add to the confusion and can make two of the same cakes almost unrecognizable from each other.  I trust the Teas We Like brand which is confirmed by my own blind tastings of a handful of their puerh.  In the end you have to both trust your own experience, trust the vendor, and be open to the opinions of others or the possibility that it could be a fake.  This is just the reality of buying older expensive puerh.

In the end I am also thankful that Teas We Like offered this cake in the first place.  There are fewer and fewer reputable Western vendors who offer such things to the public anymore.  Scott at Yunnan Sourcing breaks down the many reasons why in this comment here on TeaDB.  One of the reasons is that it is difficult and time consuming to reassure anxious and paranoid customers and to provide them with impeccable pedigree.  I am not one of these.  I know it would have been a difficult decision to offer an expensive cake like this 2001 Menghai Tea Factory 7542 Simplified Yun on their site when their main brand and concept is to bring the puerh community together with very good value options that most people can access.  However, I feel like this 2001 Menghai Tea Factory is a special cake and I hope they have the courage to offer more like this once in a blue moon.

Peace

2001 Menghai Factory 7542 “Simplified Yun” Perfect Hongkong Storage

 This 2001 Menghai Factory 7542 “simplified yun” or “simplified characters” is quite a famous puerh known for a powerful 7542 character beyond others in the few years before and after.  In the west it was Houde that introduced this special 2001 7542 to many when they sold a version of it years ago.  Much has been written about this famous 2001 Simplified Yun 7542 and the price on this cake is now in the thousands of dollars.  Interestingly, although trying 7542 from the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s, I cannot recall sampling this one although it was entirely possible.

The last few years I have quietly agonized about doing a deep dive and extensive sampling of 7542.  I decided that I will stock up on some but was unsure if I wanted to commit to a time consuming and expensive (but probably super enjoyable) sampling to find the best or at least the best value.  These days my moto is to leave the dirty work to others. Hahaha.... I was also on the fence on whether I wanted to go in for some really famous (and likely overpriced) or aged 7542 or some young cheaper medium aged stuff.  I seemed to regularly stare at the famous 2009 Menghai Factory 7542 (901) “Blue Diamond” at the Jade Leaf but having tried it before just find it too expensive for 10year 7542.  This is the curse of such a famous recipe.  My indecisiveness has led me down this path which I seem to be happy with...

When the opportunity to jump on a nicely Traditional Hong Kong stored cake from Teas We Like ($650.00 for 357g cake) presented itself this year.  I jumped on the chance.  It sold out in lightspeed.  But was the pricy decision worth it?... 

The greyish looking dry leaves smell of musty old wood.

The first infusion has a rich woody deep almost cherry taste which is very condensed and pure.  It is surprisingly shocking to me that there is absolutely no dirt taste at all!  It defies all that I know about Hongkong Traditional storage and completely leaves me dumbfounded!  It is very smooth in the mouth with no throatfeeling really and is very oily feeling.  There is a lingering sweet oily taste.  This is going to be a truly amazing and rare puerh experience I think…

The second infusion has a strong clear and pure camphor woody that has an almost faint sweet oily woody almost not that sweet molasses taste.  The Qi is strong in the mind with a very strong focusing mind and body alerting expansive awareness and sense sharpening Qi.  It has a nice warming feel.  The oily almost orange wood taste is trapped in an oily saliva gob in the throat after that releases and oily woody almost faint mint taste.  Qi is very strong but no harshness or edge what so ever.

The third infusion has a thick syrupy woody almost camphor taste with an oily mouthfeeling.  The upper-mid throat hold a gob of oily saliva and tastes of oily woody almost mint.  There is a very subtle hard to explain sweetness that is almost like unsweetened woody molasses if you could imagine it.  The Qi is superpower to the extreme strong factory Qi that you would expect but then some!

The fourth infusion is thick oily but has a pure syrupy elegance to it.  No dirt or dank at all 100% no storage taste which would most definitely have me thinking this is not HK traditional at all.  Its really mind blowing to me… there is a woody oily saliva balling with a fresh almost minty woody hold in the throat with a barely sweetness to it no bitterness or astringency so is very smooth.

The fifth infusion has a woodier and less syrup thickness or oiliness to it.  More dark wood rich smooth taste.  The mouthfeeling and throatfeeling are less oily and saliva grabbing as well now.  Qi is still strong.

The sixth infusion is a bit oilier with an oily woody with a fresh breath of mild sort of minty camphor with a long not sweet oily molasses aftertaste with notes of slight sort of sweet bread in the aftertaste.  Qi is strong and focusing now.

The seventh infusion has a rich woody a bit less oily with some faint fresh camphor breath.  Its really smooth and the Qi becomes a strong focusing energy.  This puerh has no bitterness, astringency, or harshness left in it and pretty much sums up/ is a reference cake as to what Hongkong Traditional storage is capable of.

The eighth infusion has a woody less oily taste with less underlying sweetness over the last few infusions and less oily mouth and throat.  It has a bit of faint dry or gripping but almost unnoticeable now.  The Qi is warming and focusing now and almost makes me feel drowsy but focused.

The ninth has a bit of woody underneath syrup sweetness to it again with a bit more oily texture.  This infusion tastes woodier than the previous the mouthfeel is a bit more oily but still that faint gripping dryness is there.  Less of an aftertaste now more dry in the aftertaste and at the top throat.

10^th has an almost nutty woodiness now.  The nutty taste is a common sign of Traditional Hongkong storage for me.  There is also much more woody camphor now with a pungent coolness.  This is a really tasty classic Traditional Stored Menghai Factory taste in this infusion.  The woody aftertaste is longer in the mouth here too.  Warming Qi focused and energized alerting mind with slight drowsiness.

11^th has a camphor woody profile now with a more slight puckering tonguefeeling and upper throat.  Less oily texture but more engaging mouthfeeling overall.  Not too much aftertastes.  Focusing Qi.

The 12^th and 13^th have a nutty camphor woody profile with some camphor and a mild puckering mouthfeeling an still mild oily texture.  There is a stronger woody camphor finish.  When the nutty taste is stronger and present it seems the camphor finish is more pronounced and long.  Focusing Qi. 

14^th oops I left this in the pot for about a minute… the result is really nice thick nutty syrupy rich woody infusion with camphor finish.  Tastes like some of the thick and syrupy almost subte sweet infusions of the early session mixed with the more camphor woodiness of the late infusions.  I will continue these minute long steeps.  This puerh also has good stamina for a traditional stored Menghai Factory 7542.

15^th is steeped for a few minutes it gives off slightly nutty and more obvious thick syrupy woodiness and camphor with an oily texture and slight puckering mouthfeeling.  The slight puckering mouthfeeling here interestingly is very similar to the famous 90s Menghai Factory Qing Bing which is dry stored but also know for its power and strength.  The sensation is actually very similar despite the difference in years and storage… afterall they are both know to be powerful production years and both the classic 7542 recipe.  It’s interesting though… The long steeps are pushing out a rush of alerting Qi power as well!

16^th this is a good 5 minute infusion…

It pushes out delicious nutty deep rich taste that has a bit of sweetness hidden in there.  I steep it like this for a few more days…

Vs. 2001 Mengku Mengsa Thick Paper (spent leaves on the right)  The 2001 Menghai Tea Factory 7542 Simplified Yun has much better stamina and a deeper more complex and powerful taste than the 2001 Mengku Mengsa Thick Paper which has the typical dirt taste but also very long lighter aftertastes in the early infusions.  The tropical tastes and floral mouth with some Traditional Storage make the 2001 Mengku Mengsa interesting but not nearly as good as the Simplified Yun.  The Simplified Yun has shockingly no dirt taste at all.  I have never tried a traditionally stored cake that had no dirt taste.  I know I go on about how I love the dirt tasting puerhs… but what if no dirt??? It comes out very nice indeed!  This is by far the best Traditional Hongkong stored puerh I’ve tired.

Peace

2018 Bao He Xiang “Wu Jin Hao”: A Very Menghai Blend

Just like in some white2tea blends, we don’t get much from the description of this blend. “"Wu Jin Hao" is a blend of semi-aged mao cha from old tree harvested tea leaves that was pressed in 2018” as stated on the Yunnan Sourcing page.  This one goes for $170.00 for 357g cake (or $0.48/g).  The absolute mystery and semi-agedness of this one lured me in…

Dry leaves are of chicory, licorice-y, black licorice root sweet odour.

First infusion has a blank onset with a slow to build sweetness. There is a bit of floral under clean woody and almost mushroom suggestions.  There is a mild pungency then a high noted creamy sweetness attempts to push through.  The mouthfeel is silky and oily and has a full elegance to it.  The long sweet creamy aftertaste is noted.

The second starts empty almost vegetal, toffee, sarsaparilla, mushroom, then a long creamy sweet uninterrupted taste.  There are some nice layers going on here.  The base is a nice clear fermented mushroom and woody.  There is a richness in taste and feel.  Develops a heady type of relaxing and stimulating Qi. 

The third has a woods, sour, licorice root, chicory, mushroom, mildly smokey nuance with a velvety almost sandy mouthfeeling and opening mid throat empty feeling in throat.  The aftertaste taste has a long pungency creamy sweet to it. 

The fourth infusion starts off with a mushroom, slightly smokey, woody deep note, there is a pungency slightly cooling that is faint then a sweet creamy note over smoke, woody, and mushrooms.  A slight caramel faint sweetness is lingering with smoke a minute later.  Pasha, Menghai, type of blend I would guess.  I’m fond of such things.  Qi is sedating on the mind but races and powers through the Heart.

The fifth starts a slightly sour, smokey, woody, and mushroom, there is a slight floral note before a mild quick pungent then a lingering mild-moderate sweetness overtop mushrooms and woody tastes.  The mouthfeel is becoming sticky the throat opens pretty deeply.  The Qi is powerful in the Heart and starting to stimulate the mind.  The Qi is building into something quite powerful.

The sixth infusion starts slightly sour and sweet and mushroom and woody.  There is a pop of floral sweetness before the mild pungency brings some creamy sweetness.  The flavor tastes nicer than I can describe here and more nuanced Menghai type of feel to it.  The mouthfeel is moderate and velvety almost sticky.  The throat opens to midthroat.  A very mild sweetness is left on the lips.  This infusion is as sweet and highernoted as deeper mushroom woody noted.  Qi is really nice and gives the body a mild shivering type thing.

The seventh infusion starts a sweet creamy mushroomy smokey woody taste which is quite enjoyable.  There is a faint pungent then a creamy sweet finish.  This tea has a base of woody, smokey, and mushroom that stays throughout the profile.  Its subtle elements like creamy sweetnessses, slight caramel, slight pungent even light floral that either comes and goes or doesn’t infusion to infusion.  There is a slight sour astringency but not really bitterness.  This infusion has more of a nuanced sweetness and even a sunflower seed taste in there as well.  Strong powerful Qi sensation here, lots of jittery powerful energy, head unfocused under the power and Heart racing.

The eighth and ninth infusion starts with a sweet, smokey, woody taste.  There is a mild astringency and soft sweetness in the finish.  The woodiness and smoke are more prominent than the sweet here.  There is a sunflower seed taste.

The tenth has a sweet nuance to it almost but not really fruity, mushroom, woody, smokey, sunflower seed, and slight pungent, returning creamy sweetness over these base tastes.  It’s a nice full taste with a deep, mid and light aspect to it.  So Menghai in taste, feel, and Qi.

The eleventh starts to feature the smoke first then woody and barely sweet.  This is what a lot of these smokey shengs end up doing when the initial flavours drop.

The 12^th has an almost juicy fruity onset.  The bassier flavours drop to the background and the juicy sweet flavor is mellow but prominently featured here.

The 13^th has a juicy almost oily taste and feel with very mild smoke, mushroom, woods in the distance.

The 14^th infusion is slight bitter slight fruity slight smokey taste there is a progression to creamy sweetness on the breath but the smoke is building again…

15^th infusion is much the same with a bitterness starting to significantly build as well as smoke.  The closer the time between these last infusions, the more bitter-astringent they are on the guts as well as the mouth.

I decide to end here… my head buzzing as I break into a Qi sweat.

Overall, this puerh has a balanced taste between deep mushroom woody smokey tastes and light sweet creamy and sometimes almost fruity tastes.  It has enough to keep it interesting.  It has a pretty classic smokey Menghai character in here that I enjoy.  This blend is a nod to a more classic puerh taste and feel that you can touch in some 80s and 90s style cakes which I value and enjoy but that which very few vendors seem to be able to produce these days.  The mouth- and throat-feeling sit more in the background and just keep things running smoothly.  Look at those wet leaves- there is a diversity of aged material in there with a feel of a 5-8ish year old Guangdong storage.  The Qi is a big strong type.  Overall, this puerh is pretty good, its just hard for me to justify a purchase at this price.  There is something about the classic feel to it that twists my brain into thinking that it should also have a classically low price… but its 2018… so this is what we get.

Peace