MengHai 7542 or Old Banzhang

One of the intentionally aged teas, Pu-Erh has a loyal following.
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May 6th, '09, 19:40
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MengHai 7542 or Old Banzhang

by swozt » May 6th, '09, 19:40

Hi, I am thinking of buying either one or even both of the cakes. Not sure what the prices are, but thinking of buying them for storage.

Anyone have any feedback on the below 2 cakes?

Menghai 7542 formula (Non-Fermented)
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Early Spring 08 Old Banzhang
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Many thanks.
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by wyardley » May 6th, '09, 19:46

Keep in mind that the first one you posted isn't the Menghai 7542, but rather another cake, produced by a different factory, using a (supposedly) similar formula to the one that Menghai / Dayi uses.
Last edited by wyardley on May 6th, '09, 20:42, edited 1 time in total.
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May 6th, '09, 20:30
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by nada » May 6th, '09, 20:30

wyardley wrote:Keep in mind that the first one you posted isn't the Menghai 7542
... and the second one very probably isn't very much Lao Banzhang
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by shogun89 » May 6th, '09, 20:37

Yes, both are Guoyan Tea factory. I would recomend the real Menghai Dayi 7542.
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by JAS-eTea Guy » May 6th, '09, 20:46

All 7542's are not created equal. Recommend the Menhai version to start your journey.
Good tea drinking,
Steve
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by swozt » May 6th, '09, 22:04

Thank you so much for your replies and advice.

Still a lot to learn when it comes to Pu-erh.

For Sheng Pu, I would like to buy something that is worth the effort storing it for say 5 - 10 years. So I guess I will need to look around more.

Your replies have really helped me a lot. :D
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by brandon » May 6th, '09, 22:18

It might be worth pointing out here that certain vendors will post cakes as "Menghai 7542" based on the fact that the tea could be sourced from somewhere in the very large Menghai County, or that the factory resides in Menghai, but is not the Menghai Tea Company of the famous Dayi brand.

A real Dayi is pretty easy to spot, though. This won't trip you up as long as you know beforehand that Menghai doesn't always mean Menghai Dayi.
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by shogun89 » May 6th, '09, 22:28

If you want something to age, get a tong of Menghai Dayi, 7542, 8582, 7532. These are classic cakes and you can pick up a tong for less than $80. Highly worth it.
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by swozt » May 6th, '09, 23:41

Just to add a bit more info on the tea above. They are from the MengYang Guoyang Factory and produced by Ms Dongouyan using the traditional Menghai 7542 recipe.

"Ancient Tea Horse Road" reviews on the factory in his/her blog does seem to hold this tea factory in good regard and reputable.

Based on this, does Pu er produced by MengYang Guoyan Factory match up to MengHai?
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by thanks » May 7th, '09, 01:21

swozt wrote:Just to add a bit more info on the tea above. They are from the MengYang Guoyang Factory and produced by Ms Dongouyan using the traditional Menghai 7542 recipe.

"Ancient Tea Horse Road" reviews on the factory in his/her blog does seem to hold this tea factory in good regard and reputable.

Based on this, does Pu er produced by MengYang Guoyan Factory match up to MengHai?
I'm personally not a big fan of Mengyang Guoyan. Their 05 Banzhang cake is really good, although not really produced by them, just pressed at their factory I believe. Also I highly doubt it contains a large portion of Banzhang leaf, but regardless it is a good tea. Menghai Dayi, Xiaguan, Hai Lang Hao, Liming, and Haiwan are all pretty safe bets.
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by shogun89 » May 7th, '09, 07:01

They arnt as good as Dayi in my opinion. I have a Classic 66 from them that is supposed to be a copy of the 8582. bottom line, dosnt come close to the taste of a Menghai 8582.
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by tony shlongini » May 7th, '09, 14:52

My thoughts on the fraudenlent labeling of pu'er are clear- the offender should be punished by death.

Mengyang Guoyan is a good factory, and makes some very decent tea, but if you came away with the impression that Menghai 7542 means anything other than the lone acceptable definition, then you've fallen victim to deceptive advertising, whether it was intentional or not on their behalf.

Thinking Menghai 7542 = Menghai Tea Factory 7542 is akin to my saying, "I have a '67 Chevrolet Corvette for sale," only for you to find out it's a '67 Nova with a bumper sticker that says "my other car is a Corvette".
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by JAS-eTea Guy » May 7th, '09, 17:40

tony shlongini wrote: Thinking Menghai 7542 = Menghai Tea Factory 7542 is akin to my saying, "I have a '67 Chevrolet Corvette for sale," only for you to find out it's a '67 Nova with a bumper sticker that says "my other car is a Corvette".
Great analogy! I really did laugh out loud. :lol:
Good tea drinking,
Steve
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by tony shlongini » May 7th, '09, 17:52

netsurfr wrote:
tony shlongini wrote: Thinking Menghai 7542 = Menghai Tea Factory 7542 is akin to my saying, "I have a '67 Chevrolet Corvette for sale," only for you to find out it's a '67 Nova with a bumper sticker that says "my other car is a Corvette".
Great analogy! I really did laugh out loud. :lol:
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by tatatizia » May 12th, '09, 05:42

tony shlongini wrote:My thoughts on the fraudenlent labeling of pu'er are clear- the offender should be punished by death.

Mengyang Guoyan is a good factory, and makes some very decent tea, but if you came away with the impression that Menghai 7542 means anything other than the lone acceptable definition, then you've fallen victim to deceptive advertising, whether it was intentional or not on their behalf.

Thinking Menghai 7542 = Menghai Tea Factory 7542 is akin to my saying, "I have a '67 Chevrolet Corvette for sale," only for you to find out it's a '67 Nova with a bumper sticker that says "my other car is a Corvette".

Really correct! :D
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