Menghai Dayi overview?

[beanbag]

Is there a website where I can look of the taste profiles of all the different (ripe) puer that they offer? I know what the numbers (e.g. 7452) literally mean, but I'm looking for a source that says something like "this series is sweeter, this other series is more woody, etc". This company also seems to release a whole bunch of limited edition and commemorative cakes as well. Do I just have to go to Steepster to look them all up individually based on user tasting notes?

[mr mopu]

Is there a website where I can look of the taste profiles of all the different (ripe) puer that they offer? I know what the numbers (e.g. 7452) literally mean, but I'm looking for a source that says something like "this series is sweeter, this other series is more woody, etc". This company also seems to release a whole bunch of limited edition and commemorative cakes as well. Do I just have to go to Steepster to look them all up individually based on user tasting notes?

That is probably the best bet for notes.

[Zared]

Steepster/blogs seam to give the best indication for how they are. In my experience lower number leaf seams lighter/ floral compared to woodier larger leaf. Most of these recipes use o mix of grades to achieve a more rounded profile though. You can't really go wrong with dayi for shu. They do it better than most for factory style tea. I've never been disappointed in their stuff. Boutique shu varies more and takes more effort to weed out bad.

[steanze]

When you look for notes on a tea, I suggest to start from blogs of people who have some experience, like MarshalN, Hobbes (Half-Dipper), JakubT. Steepster notes sometimes are written by drinkers with less experience, and they can be misleading, so take them with a grain of salt.
Usually ripe puerh from Dayi is quite cheap, I'd suggest to buy a set of samples and try them for yourself! For this purpose, Yunnan sourcing should work reasonably well:
https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/ ... ipe-pu-erh

[kuánglóng]

When you look for notes on a tea, I suggest to start from blogs of people who have some experience, like MarshalN, Hobbes (Half-Dipper), JakubT. Steepster notes sometimes are written by drinkers with less experience, and they can be misleading, so take them with a grain of salt.

I'd say take all reviews with a grain of salt (or two), including reviews from more experienced folks; they can't give you more than some sort of an idea anyway.

I'd suggest to buy a set of samples and try them for yourself!

Couldn't agree more.

[TomVerlain]

Besides the fact that you can have three people taste one tea and get three different responses, time and storage make those comparisons specific to the tea that is sitting in front of the taster at that time. Like 7542, which is a classic, became a classic after 20 years of miraculous aging. Buying todays 7542 and waiting 20 years might be entirely different.

from Wikipedia

"Like Xiaguan Tea Factory and many other formerly government-owned pu'er factories, Menghai produces many cakes by recipe, indicated by number. Recipe numbers are formulated in a four-digit numeric format: ####. The first two digits represent the year the recipe was first produced, the third digit the grade of leaves used in the recipe, and the last digit represents the factory (2 for Menghai Tea Factory). 7542, for example, would be a recipe from 1975 using fourth-grade tea leaf made by Menghai Tea Factory."

Which still is inscrutable in terms of taste.

A good look at the cake will tell you a lot, how tightly compressed is it ? Lots of small leaves with a mixture of colors from golden to green to chocolate ? Lots of stems and broken big leaves ?

Combine samples, which let your palate tell you the story, with the composition of he cake as you break it apart, with description of what's in it, should help you piece together your own catalog of what you should look for.

[Muel]

Besides the fact that you can have three people taste one tea and get three different responses, time and storage make those comparisons specific to the tea that is sitting in front of the taster at that time. Like 7542, which is a classic, became a classic after 20 years of miraculous aging. Buying todays 7542 and waiting 20 years might be entirely different.

from Wikipedia

"Like Xiaguan Tea Factory and many other formerly government-owned pu'er factories, Menghai produces many cakes by recipe, indicated by number. Recipe numbers are formulated in a four-digit numeric format: ####. The first two digits represent the year the recipe was first produced, the third digit the grade of leaves used in the recipe, and the last digit represents the factory (2 for Menghai Tea Factory). 7542, for example, would be a recipe from 1975 using fourth-grade tea leaf made by Menghai Tea Factory."

Which still is inscrutable in terms of taste.

A good look at the cake will tell you a lot, how tightly compressed is it ? Lots of small leaves with a mixture of colors from golden to green to chocolate ? Lots of stems and broken big leaves ?

Combine samples, which let your palate tell you the story, with the composition of he cake as you break it apart, with description of what's in it, should help you piece together your own catalog of what you should look for.

I couldn't agree more. Beside for example 7542, TomVerlain said 75 is only the recipe, the year the tea leaves picked, the aging process, and the water sources can be a huge factor for the taste.

I had a "Yunnan Chi Tse Beeng Cha", it was store in Guangdong province in China, when I first tried it, I don't like the taste at all. After 4 months I gave it a try again, the taste was totally different. Given the factor Pu'er tea leaves will continue to age, its really matter where you store it.

[kuánglóng]

I had a "Yunnan Chi Tse Beeng Cha", it was store in Guangdong province in China, when I first tried it, I don't like the taste at all. After 4 months I gave it a try again, the taste was totally different.

Sounds familiar
Some folks sell their stuff straight from the warehouse and it's pretty hard to evaluate those teas right after you get them. I have a large quarantine box where I let those teas air out for some months, without their wrappers, removing the lid every other day and bringing the humidity back up afterwards.

[TuoChaTea]

By the way, 7542 is a raw recipe, not ripe.

[onjinone]

In addition to what others said, I wouldn't put *too* much emphasis on the number because a lot of times it's not genuine. Moreover, the teas vary from batch to batch even when using the same recipe.

[.m.]

Don't have a overview, but you can hardly go wrong with Menghai Dayi shu. Their classic recipes, such as 7452, 7572, GNWL .... are all great and worth trying.