TeaChat

Post your thoughts on this here. I had the Peacock of Menghai (green) from 05 and found it to be pretty good. Anyone tried the rest?

I'm also very interested in how they taste. Pretty steep prices for young sheng, but I guess that's what you get with single estate big M stuff. I have the 05 MengSong that I find wonderful, so I'm definitely thinking of buying the set. This season has been killing my wallet, and there's still so much more to buy! With the way new stuff sells out nowadays I feel it's more of a priority than the older stuff as sad as that sounds. Right now I'm concentrating on Menghai releases so this is at the top of my list. Wish there was a sampling set for this stuff, though.

Just reading about the mountains is pretty interesting. Bada mountain is where the 1,700 year old tea tree is, etc. Five cakes for $80 isn't a bad price at all, Thanks, is it? That's only $16 each. In fact, I worry a little that the low price tag is a warning sign that it's not the best leaf.

Well I guess it's a comparative measure to me. A very nice cake very similar to a 7532 made by Haiwan can be had for 12 dollars, or a delicious cake similar to a 7542 can be had for less than 10 dollars, and 16 a cake seems a little steep. Also when you add older cakes into the equation, would you rather have five unproven untasted cakes for 80 dollars, or a 2003 Menghai Bu Lang Jing Pin from Hou De that you can even order a sample of, and is already showing a decent direction for aging? Don't get me wrong, I hope the quality is reflected in the price, but without a sample available to me 16 a cake is a little steep for a blind leap of purchase. I trust Menghai though, especially this season so we'll see I guess.

thanks wrote: ... but without a sample available to me 16 a cake is a little steep for a blind leap of purchase ...

OK, I see what you're saying ... And of course that's why Brandon is asking for opinions from someone who has had them.

They look interesting to me but I dont like the look of the leaf, they just look like most recipes, shredded. I could see getting one but spending $80 on the whole set is kinda risky and I not someone who wants to find out the hard way.

shogun89 wrote:They look interesting to me but I dont like the look of the leaf, they just look like most recipes, shredded. I could see getting one but spending $80 on the whole set is kinda risky and I not someone who wants to find out the hard way.

It's just the compression. Menghai blends are usually chop, but their more quality offerings are usually pretty whole leaves. Also, the state of the leaves (whether chopped or whole) do not affect quality whatsoever. Some of the best teas in the world are chop, it just matters if you break the leaves after they've been processed.

thanks wrote:

shogun89 wrote:They look interesting to me but I dont like the look of the leaf, they just look like most recipes, shredded. I could see getting one but spending $80 on the whole set is kinda risky and I not someone who wants to find out the hard way.

It's just the compression. Menghai blends are usually chop, but their more quality offerings are usually pretty whole leaves. Also, the state of the leaves (whether chopped or whole) do not affect quality whatsoever. Some of the best teas in the world are chop, it just matters if you break the leaves after they've been processed.

For drinking now chopped leaves usually produce a much more bitter taste compared to whole. I think that with aging those cakes will be fantastic, but as I said for comsuming now I would pass, they look very powerful.

thanks wrote: Also, the state of the leaves (whether chopped or whole) do not affect quality whatsoever. Some of the best teas in the world are chop, it just matters if you break the leaves after they've been processed.

Interesting! I guess that explains why some of these very choppy (and yummy) XG sheng tuochas are not as bitter as I'd expect. But... if I took a whole-leaf sorta cake and carelessly ripped it off the cake, that would produce some bitterness -- is how I understand what you're saying.

Dizzwave wrote:

thanks wrote: Also, the state of the leaves (whether chopped or whole) do not affect quality whatsoever. Some of the best teas in the world are chop, it just matters if you break the leaves after they've been processed.

Interesting! I guess that explains why some of these very choppy (and yummy) XG sheng tuochas are not as bitter as I'd expect. But... if I took a whole-leaf sorta cake and carelessly ripped it off the cake, that would produce some bitterness -- is how I understand what you're saying.

Well, most of your big factory fare is typically chopped up for good reason. They want to create a consistantcy throughtout the beeng and this is virtually impossible if it is whole leaf. If the leaves are chopped up, then they can incoroporate the leaves in a blend from different areas to make a recipe. This is why in a single estate beeng you typically will have a beeng made of whole leaves - no blending necessary.

Cool, thanks hop. Or is it.... WikiHop?

Dizzwave wrote:Cool, thanks hop. Or is it.... WikiHop?

Wikihop! lol

hop_goblin wrote:

Dizzwave wrote:

thanks wrote: Also, the state of the leaves (whether chopped or whole) do not affect quality whatsoever. Some of the best teas in the world are chop, it just matters if you break the leaves after they've been processed.

Interesting! I guess that explains why some of these very choppy (and yummy) XG sheng tuochas are not as bitter as I'd expect. But... if I took a whole-leaf sorta cake and carelessly ripped it off the cake, that would produce some bitterness -- is how I understand what you're saying.

Well, most of your big factory fare is typically chopped up for good reason. They want to create a consistantcy throughtout the beeng and this is virtually impossible if it is whole leaf. If the leaves are chopped up, then they can incoroporate the leaves in a blend from different areas to make a recipe. This is why in a single estate beeng you typically will have a beeng made of whole leaves - no blending necessary.

Hmm thats interesting, thanks for that wikihop. I hate to say this but these cakes are starting to remind of of tea bag processing, consistency. Nothing wrong with that at all.

So... did anyone here end up getting any of the 08 Peacock series, and if so how was it?

I got six sets (gift boxed version) in my Kunming apartment, not ever tasted though.

Hopefully it would not be a bad investment.

I was told that Bulang and Nannuo were a little better than other three since Big M owned/controlled many tea gardens (plantations) in Bulang and Nannuo.