2008 Mengku "Wild Arbor King" Raw Pu-erh

I recently sampled and reviewed the 2006 version of this and found it to be a good example of a solid semi aged Lincang that offered the typical flavor profile (no wild/purple tea character)and qi that performed well above its price range. This 2008 is a different animal altogether. Here, the wild in its title stands out. If I blind tasted this I would guess it was a 10 year old Wuliang wild cake with its bitter licorice and fig notes. The qi is nice but I can’t comment too much on that as I drank a pot of Last Thoughts with breakfast and that tea can elevate ones mood for prolonged periods.. I’m on steep 6 and the wild king is showing no signs of slowing down. If you are a fan of adolescent purple teas this one is solid. I was expecting something similar to the 06 with possibly diminished leaf quality with the growing popularity of Bingdao area teas. Instead I taste something radically different but still quite good I need a few semi aged purple cakes and have a few samples of cakes from Wu liang I want to taste beside this. It’s definitely on the short list.

This is one of my first daily drinkers. Bought a cake after tasting a YS sample.

Cake is compressed loosely enough that it breaks apart into long, twisted leaves rather than chunks. I brew 6s, 12s, 15s, 20s, etc., going for about 8-9 steeps. From the second steep on, the liquor is bronzed and ruddy.

The dry leaves smell so cedar cabinet-y that I’d love to store the cake with my sweaters. For the first few steeps right now, though, the tea comes off scratchy and bitter. At the third steep, though, the dried fruit comes together with the leather and wood, and for the next three-four steeps I am enjoying the tea far more than the morning news I’m often reading on my computer while I sip. The tea’s qi is light but pleasant, settling in my head and upper chest. No morning sweats.

There’s not much by way of body or aftertaste. A soft sweetness around the sides of the mouth comes out around steep 6, along with the echo of flowers without being floral, which keeps me going back for longer and longer steeps while I get ready for work until I walk out the door.