I recently got a new teapot that I plan to use for semi-aged sheng puerh. There are still quite a few samples left from the box Yee On Tea sent me half a year ago so I wanted to test my new pot with one of their teas: the 2007 Mengku Raw Puerh.
2007 Mengku Raw Puerh
The 2007 Mengku Raw Puerh is a sheng puerh that is part of their ‘Tea For Connoisseurs’ series. This series includes a variety of different sheng puerh tea cakes and the goal is to provide higher quality puerh tea to enthusiasts with different characters. Tea in this series comes from broad leaf old arbor trees and has been aged in their Hong Kong warehouse. There is no mention of traditional storage, so I guess this is natural Hong Kong storage?
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This 2007 Mengku Raw Puerh comes from Mengku, which is located in Lincang County. I’ve had other teas from the Mengku area and I really enjoyed those teas so it’ll be interesting to see how this one compares. This particular tea cake was produced by the Forever Tea Factory.
Tea Tasting
- 6g for a 120ml Dicaoqing teapot
- 99°C water
I see a mix of medium-sized leaves with some stems. The colour is brown, but it ranges from light brown to very dark brown; almost black. In general, these leaves look good and juicy. There is a warming aroma with traces of wood and a tiny hint of forest undergrowth on a rainy day in spring. There is also something bright/fresh going on.
Infusion 1 (15 sec): after brewing this infusion, I smelled the wet leaves and the aroma changed a lot. It’s really fruity with strong incense on the forefront. It reminds me of strawberry flavoured tobacco. The infusion itself is rather subtle. I’m getting a strong minerality and very light traces of fruit. This fruitiness is also showing itself in the aftertaste.
Infusion 2 (20 sec): this one is more intense and more flavourful. However, it’s difficult to name the exact flavours. I’m getting a tiny bit of fruit and it’s sweet as well. The liquor feels full and thick. It flows easily and immediately coats my whole mouth. There is definitely a pleasant and sweet aftertaste a couple of minutes after swallowing.
Infusion 3 (25 sec): the colour of the liquor hasn’t changed too much. It feels really smooth and gentle. Flavours are not that intense in this one as it’s more about subtleties. Some faint hints of summer and stone fruits towards the finish and especially in the aftertaste.
Infusion 4 (30 sec): this one is more about the fruits that were in the background in the previous infusions. Incense is also noticeable. There is a pleasant mix of incense and red summer fruits. It’s very similar to the strawberry flavoured tobacco I got when smelling the wet leaves after the first infusion. This is a really delicious infusion! The sweetness is even stronger in the aftertaste.
Infusion 5 (40 sec): no big changes and it’s still really smooth. There is a bit of incense with a fruity undertone. The aftertaste is still sweet and it’s fruitier than before. Sweet and juicy strawberries!
Infusion 6 (long): this one is all about incense and fruit. I’m getting strawberry flavoured tobacco from the start and it slowly takes you to the end of the infusion. The finish and aftertaste are exceptional as it’s really sweet and fruity.
Infusion 7 (long): very similar but a bit less intense. It’s a gentle infusion with a lubricating effect.
Conclusion
The 2007 Mengku Raw Puerh was such a smooth and lubricating tea. It went down my throat really easily and had a delicious aftertaste.
The flavours during the infusions started out rather subtle and slowly increased in intensity. I got summer fruits with tobacco and incense and it felt just right as nothing was too intense. The aftertaste really got me because I got a sweet and fruity experience in my throat a couple of minutes after swallowing and this lasted very long after the session.
If you’re interested in trying the 2007 Mengku Raw Puerh, you can buy it over here.
