This is a 2019 black tea from Menghai. It comes from an elevation around 1600-1800 meters. The tea trees are around 200 years old, so they can classify as gushu.
I am trying to understand the differences in regions. Menghai produces large quantities of pu-erh tea. It houses one of the oldest and biggest pu-erh factories. Their vintage pu-erhs from the 1970s and 80s are very popular. These days, I found that factory teas are less popular amongst the international tea community, but they still have a good reputation in China. Due to the popularity of Menghai pu-erhs, counterfeits of them were widespread. To prevent this, pu-erh cakes were being printed with micro-printed tickets since 2006 according to this source. Issue of counterfeit products for well-known factory products is something I’ve heard before quite a lot. Authenticating tea cakes from pre-2006 is still an issue, and it is not an obvious job. These days, I found that Menghai slightly suffers from a reputation of ‘cheap Pu-erh’ especially boutique tea farmers do not really appreciate them, perhaps rightly so. Therefore, I think it was good to drink black tea, and actually, I find it quite pleasing. It had a fruity and floral aroma and a well-balanced sweet and malt taste. I can drink it every day really.
Tea Profile:
Type: Black
Origin: Menghai, Yunnan
Harvest time: Spring 2019
Leaf colour: Tones of brown
Liquor colour: Bordeaux brown
Tea Aroma: Fruity and floral
Tea taste: Balanced sweetness and maltiness with fruity and floral notes
Steeping/brewing: Place 5g in 100ml of water at 90ºC and rinse after 10 seconds. Steep for 20 seconds during the first infusion,and add 10 seconds to the subsequent infusions. You can re-steep this tea a few times.
Shelf life: Can be aged.
コメント