Dropping this here. The handwriting of a special tea friend is difficult to read ;-P I thought the label said ‘2003 Mengku 7542’ but Steepster came up empty. With some knowledge of who this came from and a quick internet search, I’m almost positive it’s ‘2003 Menghai 7542.’ If my assumption is incorrect let me know. Somehow I’ve managed to drink through a whole bag of this pu without logging it. Sipdown it is.
Red-orange-gold-hay tea, not muddy dark. The lightness of the body took several steeps for me to register. Very clean taste with subtleties that lie beyond the smokey fireplace and a dry peaty, woody bitterness that leaves my tongue tingling. The feeling is almost effervescent in its prickliness, like tiny pop-pop-pops. The tangy/acidic fruity tone of this tea reminds me of currant jam and cooked cranberries. Very light baked bread, rocky crag and clean storage flavors. The camphor hints at its cooling presence in the back of the mouth before making its strength known in that lovely warming/cooling sensation I love in my ears. Each inhale cools my whole mouth and I’m left with that dry smoke and bitterness. Lacks pronounced cha qi but makes up for it in its aged profile.
I get it. This tea is nice. I would guess more years of storage will smooth out the acidity and tannic drying quality. Gonna need some water after this, though.
Thank you <3
Song pairing: Sierra Ferrell — In Dreams
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fPqmceCf90
Flavors: Biting, Bitter, Black Currant, Bread, Camphor, Cranberry, Drying, Fireplace, Peat, Tangy, Tannic, Wet Rocks, Wood
Preparation
People who liked this
Comments
Hmm. I was 8 years old…
It sounds like a nice tea.
You’re a youngster Martin!
Indeed I am :)
Lol, I was 8 or 9 too (:
38 when this was made! ;P
Mrmopar, you and I probably have socks (or other wardrobe essentials) that are older than these young pups ;)
I have two shirts I bought in 1985 that I still wear, and a sweatshirt of my husband’s from about the same time….
You’re the same age as my brother, Martin. 2003 was a wild year for me. That was a little after I first started drinking tea — homemade Lipton iced tea because I had cotton mouth so bad from all the marijuanas. Glad those days are behind me, haha.
Finishing up the pot tonight, I noticed a pronounced wintergreen aroma to the leaves still damp from last night’s session.
mrmopar, do you know where I can find more of this? I imagine it’s out of my price range but I wouldn’t mind window shopping.
Haha! I’m jealous @ashmanra, I am in LOVE with all things 80s (and 70s) and would have loved to have been around to witness them. The music, fashion, films… the hair! Ugh. Amazing. I have a couple of clothing pieces from the 80s I managed to convince my mam to let me have before she sent them off to the charity shop and I wear them all the time (:
@derk what an introduction to tea! XD
I wish we had a thumbs up button for comments
derk, to be honest these things are pretty pricey. I think I could find one somewhere. Did you have a budget range? I think LP and I got the last cakes from where he got his from.
And gmathis probably so on the clothing. They may not fit as well as they did back then.
mrmopar, don’t worry about it, but thanks for the offer.
I’m still thinking about this tea 5 days later. It was very slow to open up, almost cranky, but worth having a long sit-down with.
I was rummaging through a crock today that my hand hasn’t dipped into for a long time and found a different bag of this. Big smile.
I read that 2004 was the year that Menghai cut the quality of 7542. I’ve had a few later pressings and wasn’t impressed. I’ve had a few samples from the late 90s that were great but not worth the price. Teas We Like has a few Menghai cakes from that period that are reasonable but I haven’t tried them. Their 2001 naked Yiwu is a bargain,
Hmm. I was 8 years old…
It sounds like a nice tea.
You’re a youngster Martin!
Indeed I am :)
Lol, I was 8 or 9 too (:
38 when this was made! ;P
Mrmopar, you and I probably have socks (or other wardrobe essentials) that are older than these young pups ;)
I have two shirts I bought in 1985 that I still wear, and a sweatshirt of my husband’s from about the same time….
You’re the same age as my brother, Martin. 2003 was a wild year for me. That was a little after I first started drinking tea — homemade Lipton iced tea because I had cotton mouth so bad from all the marijuanas. Glad those days are behind me, haha.
Finishing up the pot tonight, I noticed a pronounced wintergreen aroma to the leaves still damp from last night’s session.
mrmopar, do you know where I can find more of this? I imagine it’s out of my price range but I wouldn’t mind window shopping.
Haha! I’m jealous @ashmanra, I am in LOVE with all things 80s (and 70s) and would have loved to have been around to witness them. The music, fashion, films… the hair! Ugh. Amazing. I have a couple of clothing pieces from the 80s I managed to convince my mam to let me have before she sent them off to the charity shop and I wear them all the time (:
@derk what an introduction to tea! XD
I wish we had a thumbs up button for comments
derk, to be honest these things are pretty pricey. I think I could find one somewhere. Did you have a budget range? I think LP and I got the last cakes from where he got his from.
And gmathis probably so on the clothing. They may not fit as well as they did back then.
mrmopar, don’t worry about it, but thanks for the offer.
I’m still thinking about this tea 5 days later. It was very slow to open up, almost cranky, but worth having a long sit-down with.
I was rummaging through a crock today that my hand hasn’t dipped into for a long time and found a different bag of this. Big smile.
I read that 2004 was the year that Menghai cut the quality of 7542. I’ve had a few later pressings and wasn’t impressed. I’ve had a few samples from the late 90s that were great but not worth the price. Teas We Like has a few Menghai cakes from that period that are reasonable but I haven’t tried them. Their 2001 naked Yiwu is a bargain,