2005 Mengku "Mu Shu (Mother Tree) Cha"

This is definitely the best Mengku area tea I’ve had. Big woody, minty notes, super clean storage, thick as oil and steeps forever. Calming, euphoric and clarifying qi…but is it worth $450 a cake? I’d have to compare it side by side with a 2008 Bingdao and the 2011 Mushucha from YS that I’ve had in heated storage (that’s really done wonders) both for which I paid a fraction of this price. I’m not a big Lincang drinker and usually drink it to change things up a bit. It is amazing tea but for that kind of coin I’d prefer to spend it on a high end Yiwu. If Mengku area teas are your thing this is a must try.

Decided to finish off a sample today that I’ve had lying around for a little over a year. This is a strongly minty tea, both in the aroma and on the tongue, with some initial pine-iness, as well. The durability here is unremarkable; neither is it a marathon tea nor giving up in a few steeps. Similarly, qi is debatable, with the tea leaving a vague calmness that, while pleasant, may be mostly caffeine. That said, the flavor’s great and the mouthfeel thick and syrupy, so on the balance, this is a winner. I’m not mourning the fact that I missed out on this tea, but I do feel an indistinct regret.

This is the first year of production for the Mu Shu Cha and this premium cake is now seen as a classic production from the Shuangjiang Mengku Tea Co. Early spring material from the Shuangjiang region in the county of Lincang. Stone pressed – a mix of many whole leaves with stems and pieces. The tea liquor is a rich deep golden color and the early infusions are very aromatic, pungent and slightly astringent, with a mature sweetness. Strong aftertaste and thick mouthfeel. The tea becomes a bit creamy and fruity in later infusions and rather full in the mouth with a thickness that stays long on the tongue. 2005 was a particularly good production year for S.Mengku and many of these teas have become highly regarded mid-age shengs. The prices are very fair given the quality of the material and the age. This tea sells for $72 (500g = $0.14/g) and last year I purchased the 2005 DaXueShan (Big Snow Mtn.) from White2Tea for $60 (357g = $0.17/g). Two very good semi-aged teas. If you happen to run across either at a good price, definitely worthy of consideration.

I really need to start logging more teas. I’m drinking tea, I am! The problem is a bunch of the ones I’ve had recently are not in the Steepster database, so I have to go through the trouble of adding the tea.

Anyway, I did it! Thanks to Grill for this sample!

I haven’t developed a taste for sheng with some years on it, but this one ain’t bad! Very clean taste. Brews up amber in color with a slightly minty aroma. Tastes kinda fruity, like dried fruit! Mmm! It has some bitterness, especially in early steeps. Not super thick, but decent. It’s also very reasonably priced. I really like the dried fruit taste, so this one is wishlisted!