Menghai Tea Factory (Pu-erhtea.com)
Recent Tasting Notes
This tea started out poorly. There was a fishy note to the fermentation initially. This lasted about two steeps. The fermentation was a factor for about five steeps. It was bittersweet in the start. It did over twelve steeps evolve into something much nicer. I am on the fence, however if this was a real Dayi product or not. To me it did not completely taste like a real Dayi although it did improve remarkably. I am still waiting for Mr Mopar’s opinion about the wrapper of this cake as to if it looks real.
I brewed this twelve times in a 120ml gaiwan with 10g leaf and boiling water. I gave it a 10 second rinse and a 10 minute rest. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, 1 min, 1.5 min, and 2 min.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BClPb7xzDcEvT3bKEVWSoUhr-tpWD0kYh7j0ME0/?taken-by=allanckeanepuerhtea
Preparation
Here is one similar but the wrapping should have been the same.
http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Pu-er-Ripe-Ripened-Tea-2006-TAE-TEA-DaYi-7452-Beeng-Cake-Bing-357g-Cooked-Matured/1220054_32283946562.html
I see the difference.
Pu-erhtea.com sells this very cheaply. So cheaply I was not sure it would turn out to be real. When I got it the first thing I did was scan the outer seal with the black light. It glowed green like a Dayi should. When I opened it I scanned the inner ticket. It glowed green like a Dayi should. The question remained did it taste like a Dayi should. We’ll I think it tastes real too. It was dark and rich in the early infusions. There was a lot of fermentation flavor to it. Prominent through the first five or so steeps. I did not notice any fishy taste but I am not too sensitive to that. I did notice some notes of chocolate in there. One could even argue it developed a fruity taste in later steeps but I’m not positive on that note. I do know that I enjoyed this tea. It tasted similar in profile to other Dayis I have drank in the past from other sources. The kicker to all of this is it was just around $13. Every indication is that this was real. They don’t usually fake the Dayi security features and they certainly don’t fake the Dayi flavor. It tasted completely real to me. I didn’t notice any qi per se but then again I usually don’t in ripe teas.
I steeped this tea twelve times in a 120ml gaiwan with 10.3g leaf and boiling water. I gave it a 10 second rinse and a 10 minute rest. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, 1 min,1.5 min, and 2 min. I could have gotten a couple more steeps out of the leaves but I was at my caffeine limit for the day.
Flavors: Chocolate, Earth, Sweet
Preparation
tea123, this was actually my second series of orders from them. I ordered from them two or two and a half years ago, ordering mostly ripe then too. I remember particularly liking some of the Awazon label ripe. At the time I didn’t know much of anything about puerh. So far I like what I have got in this order. His stuff may not be phenomenal, but it seems good quality to me. His shipping is fast.
Thanks for the review AllanK, I have wondered whether to put an order in with Awazon a couple of times but haven’t got round to it yet…
