DAYI 大益 TaeTea 7542 Raw Puer 生茶 1401 (2014)

The 7542 is probably the most classic and well known Puer Tea ever.

It's story starts in 1975 (theoretically) as the first two digits of the Tea Code reveal.

Even before that date back to the 1950s round puer teas like this one were produced.

In 1975 though the Menghai Tea Factory developed a "Brand" Recipe where they perfected their product and would mix specific amounts of tea leaves from areas like Bulang and Bada, specific amounts of buds and an overall average of Grade 4 Material (the upper leaves), so it would be a consistent Quality and taste (as far as this was possible through the years).

So what we have here with a 2014 version is a modern Puer Tea product that relates to the 1975 tea in terms that it includes a lot of tea leaf buds (which are a lot rarer than the usual leaves) and only the upper leaves of the tea plants from the classic Xishuangbanna areas.

Where this says a lot about selection and more expensive material, it doesn't automatically suggest that this 7542 Tea from 2014 is a very expensive and thought after tea as methods of producing and marketing goals have changed to very old tea trees from specific areas rather than a blend with a lot of buds in it, which can lead to a quite unpleasant bitter taste when the tea is fresh.

It's therefore known as a "classic" and should be seen as that.

It's in no way consisting of pure Gushu Material in terms of tree age, although TaeTea likes to describe all their harvesting areas as ancient tea tree areas.

The 150g version of 2018 sells for a price of 78 Yuan (11 USD), that's 7,40 USD for a 100g.

Here we can see the box of a smaller 150g cake from 2014, the information is not very specific, it just mentions that it's name is Dayi Puer Tea (Raw Tea), the product is called 7542, the production batch is the first of 2014 (1401), it consists of Yunnan Big Leaf (Assamica and other variants) Tea Leaves from Xishuangbanna Area, it was produced on 23 July 2014:

TaeTea will include a small bag of a humidity controlling substance so the tea will not get mouldy even if stored for a long time:

The leaf material looks quite nice, although you can see that a lot of small upper leaves and buds are included. Big leaves from old ancient trees will not be found in this product.

The Brew of the 2014, which is now 5 years of age already presents itself with a darker orange color.

The taste has greatly improved in only 5 years.

Where it was very bitter, not of much aroma and yellow in 2015, the main factor in this tea is a very herbal, spicy, harsh and fruity flavor now which should relate to the high amount of tea leaf buds in the product and the stronger characteristic of tea leaves from specific tea mountain areas used for blending.

the leaves look quite crushed in this product and it's hard to make out a complete one in here.

this might also add to a more intense aroma.

daily facts:

A real classic, often refered to as a benchmark, although the factors have really changed over time which are preferred right now. Everyone should have tried a 7542 when it's fresh, and then every 5 years from then. Very old 7542s with an age more than 15 years tend to taste like medicine, they have a really dark brown color when brewed, still some slight fruitiness, but also a harsh herbal and spicy tendency that will smooth out more and more when it reaches an age > 20 yrs.


daily rating:

4.4 / 5


daily links:

Yee On Tea - A Brief History of 7542
https://yeeonteaco.com/blogs/news/manghai-tea-factory-7542-series-chi-tse-beeng-cha-collection-brief-introduction

Puer.fr - Red Da Yi
http://www.puerh.fr/en/article/red_da_yi.htm

TaeTea official TMall Flagship Shop - 7542 (1902) 357g
https://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=603602633484

TaeTea official TMall Flagship Shop - 7542 (1801) 150g
https://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=15704058565

DAYI 大益 TaeTea Dragon Pole / Pillar 2010 Ripe Puer

today's tea is a 2010 Dragon Pillar / Pole Ripe Puer from Dayi (Menghai Tea Factory), TaeTea Group.

it comes in a very nice box and is related to the 18th Asian Games held in Guangzhou in 2010.

the text benath the logo says "Official Asian Games Tea Supplier", what would indicate that this tea was presented at the Guangzhou Asian Games.

many tea products are marketed for special events and conferences, political, sports, entertainment and most probably served or sold there.

the text on the rear of the box just tells us that it's a ripe puer from DaYi, the name of the product is 龙柱圆 (Dragon Pile Round (aka Pole)), and the Batch is 001.

The Product Name Dragon Pole comes from stacking 7 of these ripe tea cakes to a Tong, and stacking 7 of those Tongs gives a pillar of 49 Beengs, TaeTea calls this a Dragon Pole.

it probably refers to the use of these Dragon Pillars (not made from tea though ;) ) in some old buildings/temples built with several of those pillars that are displaying dragons on them. 

you can also see the dragon on the front wrapper in a vertical pole design.

the leaf material itself is very nice and consists of a lot of buds. it's definately of a higher quality than usual ripe puer from TaeTea and has a very mild and soft smell.

also included in the box is a small info note that just has general hints on how to brew it easy and kinda western style.. a ratio of 1:50 (5g for 250ml), boiling water and 3-5 minutes steeping time is suggested.

i rather suggest using 8g for 160 ml (1:20 ratio), boiling water and steeping times of about 10 to 20 seconds (in later brews).

the brew is very thick and dark, even with short steeping times, the following photo was done with a later brew that was thinner and shows the nice red color of the liquid.

the aroma is very earthy (in a nice way), has flavors of raisin/plum and a very fine and smooth lotus taste.

the body of the tea is velvety smooth with a thick brew that should be related to the use of old tea tree material (according to the official TaeTea Website Info on Dragon Pillar, Imperial Tea Series) and very subtle spicy ginger notes.

the clear difference to other ripe puers is that this tea is so lovely to drink as it's so smooth.. other teas go right in your face (or nose) with unexpected and partly intense flavors.

while that may be a cool thing and a less intense experience may sound kinda boring, in this tea it's so pleasing because the brew is so thick and doesn't have any odd notes.

 the wanted flavors just come in a very smooth way, like a girl that is so awesome but so lovely at the same time ;)

daily facts:

this tea is clearly a premium factory product, it's still a factory product within it's limits and borders, but so good at that. it combines the good and distinct treats of a good older ripe puer with a soft experience of a thick brew, and even shows a fine lotus aroma (which officially isn't even promoted in this tea)

daily rating:

4.2 / 5


related links:

http://www.taetea.net/en/home
http://www.taetea.net/en/products/product/traditional/imperial/dragon_pillar_ripe_puer

HQF Jinggu 2017 GuShu Sheng Puer

todays tea is a 2017 Jinggu GuShu Sheng Puer from the HQF Label.

this was one of their cheapest puer tea cakes of that years lineup, and it sold for about 20 cent / gram at that time. the production date on the wrapper says April 2017.

the sticker is quite nice and reminds me of otherworldly and psychoactive effects ;), but it might actually rather refer to some old ethnic civilization people riding on animals and maybe delivering tea to a tea master (just my thoughts)..

the leaf material is mixed and looks blended, you can also see in the brewed leaves that there are many different kinds of colors here, even purple.

the drying process was obviously done with fermenting some edges of the leaves to get more aroma.

as the tea is already more than 2 years old, the brew has an orange color now, and will receive it's first aged flavors (in between phase) very soon.

i expected a strong fruity and lemony aroma in this one as with other Jinggu Area sheng puers, but this one has quite a very smokey flavor, that might be unpleasant at first but gets less after a few steeps and feels like an acceptable wood smoke aroma that has a nice effect on your throat while sipping this tea.

this doesn't change the impression, that there are many different aspects of aroma in this one, sour, harsh, smokey. the liquid is not very thick and feels a bit thin fast, but that might relate to the cheaper price range, to me it's obviously leaf material of younger and older aged tea plants mixed together.

daily facts:

i never really liked the profound smokiness in this one, luckily it fades with the ongoing steeps, but so do the other oily aromas and the brew gets thin and uninteresting when the smokiness is at a pleasant level. i can't really enjoy this tea as much as i would like to and had many better experiences with other Jinggu teas. if you are a fan of smokey teas, this might be a good one for you. if you are not, you better skip this one.

the qi of this tea was not very deep for me and rather felt like from younger trees, not ancient old trees. the wrapper information states quality leaf material from ancient trees though (GuShu). for 20 cent / gram it might not be the best material.

daily rating:

3.6 / 5

Dong Ding Green Taiwan Oolong

today's tea is a fresh green Dong Ding Oolong that i got my hands on in Chinatown of Yokohama, Japan at a store of the company Ding Yun, link at the end of this blog article.

Dong Ding Oolong is grown on the Dong Ding Mountain Range of Taiwan.

It's said that the plants were brought from the Wuyi Region in China about 150 years ago.

the leaves are green and smell milky and of high quality.

a wonderful aroma comes out after the rinsing with flavors of sweet milk, green tea and even a bit vanilla.

the brew has a green-yellowish transparent tone, and begins with tastes of sweet milk and typical fresh green oolong flavor that transforms with further brews to a chestnut flavor with a hint of bitter cabbage which is typcial for taiwan oolongs, that gets stronger to the end of the session.

the leaf quality is ok and tends to a "good" rating. some leaves are ripped a little, i've seen better, but i've also seen much worse. the company states that all their teas are 100% hand picked and of high quality.

daily facts:

at the start of the session it's a high quality oolong with great and wonderful aroma, the transformation to a little more bitter cabbagy tea that loses most of it's delicate sweet and milky traits more and more after few steeps reduces the fun factor for me. i've seen taiwan oolongs that can hold a sweet and pleasing aroma until finished.. so a rating between medium good and very good should be fair here. sold at a price of 13 USD / 50g it fits in the medium price range for taiwan oolongs.

daily rating:

3.7 / 5


links:

http://www.dingyuntea.com/Japanese/
https://www.facebook.com/teiunchakura/

ZhongCha 中茶 8001 Big Red Mark (Da Hong Yin 大紅印) 2006

Where should i start.. i guess the front wrapper is the key element here:

you can see a big red symbol on the front that is the chinese Symbol for Tea (茶).

on the left side you can read the three symbols 大紅印 which translate to Big Red Mark.

These kinds of tea discs were produced for a long time since the 1950s by or rather for  the national state owned company ZhongCha (China Tea 中茶). 

Of course the leaf material, production, quality  and flavors changed over the decades, this is where the number on the right side comes in.. the 8001. it refers to a "recipe" from 1980, leaf grade 0 (we will get to this later), and the last number 1 stands for the ZhongCha Company under which license many producers sold their teas. in this case the China Tuhsu Yunnan Imp/Exp Corp. has it's name printed on the front wrapper.

on the back side we can find some information about the tea leaf material, food safety regulations and a reminder to not store this tea in a humid and hot climate (or you would get moulds).

right on top there is a digital counterfeit sticker.

the chinese symbols simply state "Yunnan Qizi Bing Cha" = Yunnan Seven Sons Round Tea Cake.

Seven Sons refers to the method of producing a rounded 357g Tea Cake disc and pack it as 7 cakes into a bamboo wrapper. there are several stories as to where the 7 comes from, may it be 7 tea mountains or 7 brothers, both are mentioned in literature, but today this is just a description for a typical puer cake product from zhongcha that refers to older times.

once opened up, there is a Neifei Sticker inside, it just states the name of the tea again.

 on the right side of the Sticker and on the left side of the front wrapper there is a signature to be found, it's the signature of the Generel Manager of ZhongCha: Jia Peng

as you can see in the following photo, the wrapper material has probably some kind of cotton fibers worked in, that might be related to establish counterfeit methods, but it's also nice to see that the wrapper material should have a nice quality that will allow air to pass through and keep the tea from getting too much moisture.

the leaf material itself looks very good. the leaf grade zero in the 8001 number might refer to superior leaf quality, as this is the information that we can find in an interview with the producer of this tea.

according to the interview, the leaves used for this cake are old arbor yiwu leaves from tea trees grown from seeds, not plantation, and include quite a lot of small tips.

most of the times in Tuhsu Company products you can also find a green printed paper inside the wrapper with the tea cake that describes that this kind of puer tea cake is famous and has a sweet taste, refreshes you, helps with digestion and helps when you feel tired. this reminds me more of a medicine product than a tea, but then again, this is china, and tea is medicine in TCM.

7 grams of the leaf material, ready to be brewed inside my Yixing Hei Jin Sha (Black Gold Sand 黑金砂) Zisha Pot, that really rounds up the aroma and takes care of the unwanted rough bitter tones.

out comes a dark orange liquid, which reminds of leather, honey, sweet-sour exotic stone fruits, sugary notes, a warm and comfortable tobacco aroma (not to be confused with a colder smokey flavor which i personally dislike) and a typical aged sourbittersweet aroma.

 the brewed leaves have a leathery brown color, you can really see the 13 year dry warehouse aging process as this is a very post fermented tea already.

the brew is strong and thick, the steeping times can be kept short for 7-10 seconds. the aroma is wonderful, the honey sweetness in this one is outstanding and it should be a perfect product for further aging.

daily facts:

an outstanding product with a lovely aroma. as the 13 year dry aging process in bamboo containments and a controlled warehouse climate just finished, it might need 2 or 3 more years to air and settle.

it has just arrived at the edge of a satisfying and enjoyable aroma, but this wonderful side still has room for improvement. there could be so much more of this if kept in your home for some more years.

daily rating:

4.3 / 5

i'm very positive it will climb the ladder even more in a few years.

related articles:

https://www.sohu.com/a/314051198_455795

http://m.ishuocha.com/show-13-70230.html

https://kknews.cc/zh-tw/culture/vrg6xkq.html

Haiwan Pavo 968 Lao Tong Zhi 121 (2012) ripe puer

a nice little Box of 100g ripe puer caught my sight in a tea house in Yokohama's Chinatown:

the label Pavo was not known to me before, but it didn't take long for me to find out that it was produced by/for the Haiwan Tea Company Lao Tong Zhi, what translates as Old Comrades.

the information on the side of the box didn't reveal anything further, other than it's a Yunnan Puer Tea and a ripe one and it was made according to the specific food safety restrictions.

unboxing revealed a nice little 100g Tuo that had the number 968 and 121 printed, next to a counterfeit security label that shines colorful.

it's hard for me to say what the number 968 really means as there is no english information on the internet about it, but the nearest guess would be a 2009 recipe with leaf grade 6 material from Factory 8 (Haiwan). Another way to read it would be a 96 recipe of leaf grade 8 from an unknown factory, but as 8 fits Haiwan, i like the first explanation more.

the 121 refers to the year 2012, 1st batch. so the age of this already fermented puer is now 7 years.

the material has quite some golden buds/tips in there, that should make the tea more aromatic, the nearest thing to compare the taste of these golden tips would be the taste of a chinese black tea, highly aromatic with a clean brew..

the dark leaf material represents the leaves that grow further down on the tea plant and the taste should relate to a rather earthy and thick soup.

not really surprisingly, the brew had a nice red color to it and the taste was a bit earthy, woody, a bit sour and had some aromatic and even slightly sweet notes.

daily Facts:

there are sure better ripe puers that might taste like plum wine and sweet and don't have any earthy flavor to them, but also a lot of ripes that just have an earthy and even fishy taste that i couldn't make out in this one, which is a good thing.

my rating therefore is a medium to good one = it's ok, nothing special, nothing bad here, fine to drink, but the slightly sour woody taste was just something i expect from planatation leaf material.

if it had higher quality leaves like a gushu ripe, the spectrum of flavors and mouthfeel could have been more broad, relaxed and interesting.

with a tmall price of about 9 cents / gram (60 Y = 8,37 USD/100g) it's clear, that this is a standard consumer market product and not a high priced special tuo.

if you want a cheap shu puer that is drinkable and produced by a big factory according to food safety procedures, go for it, if not.. just don't.

daily Rating:

3.6 / 5

Haiwan official tmall flagship store: https://laotongzhilh.tmall.com

(don't confuse tmall with taobao or aliexpress, they might use the same system, but tmall shops are factory owned flagship or licensed factory product stores that sell legit products and often have special sale prices)