2011 Menghai Tea Factory 7262 101 Ripe Pu-erh Tea Cake
A classic recipe from Menghai, but the first production of 2011 (101). This is an average blend of 6th grade material that was fermented last year, so the cake does not have that just fermented taste, rather it has already mellowed a bit. Another 6 months to a year down the road and it will make even more impovements in taste and liquor clarity. But, don't wait, as this will sell fast!
Menghai Tea Factory (勐海茶叶厂): Menghai Tea Factory was formally established in 1940 by a group of over 90 tea professionals with origins from all over China. It is possibly the oldest specialized tea factory in Yunnan Province. Because of this, it has a solid reputation that is well respected by Pu-erh tea enthusiasts. It is located in Menghai county of Xishuangbanna (西双版纳) prefecture, which is renowned for being one of the birthplaces of Chinese tea culture. They were one of the first two tea factories (along with the Kunming Tea Factory) to come up with the 'wodui' (渥堆) method of ripening pu'er tea in 1973, and have a series of recipes that are undisputed as some of the finest ripened Pu-erh teas available. Formerly under the umbrella of the state-run CNNP, they went fully private in 1996 and adopted the 'dayi' (大益) logo. 'Dayi' means 'great benefit', which is meant to point out the great benefit that tea has on the body, the spirit, and human relationships.
Date: 2011 (101)
Net Weight: 357 grams per cake (7 cakes per stack)
Ingredients: 2009-2010 Fermented Menghai blended material
Produced by Menghai Tea Factory
**picture of cake without wrapper is 2009 7262... nei fei will differ slightly between 2009 and 2011