L: 2003 Purple Dayi Menghai Tea Factory R: 2011 Menghai Tea Factory 7542
The Menghai brand is the most recognizable and lucrative in the puerh industry. It attracts interest from a wide-ranging audience from casual tea drinkers to hardcore puerh collectors as well as investors and auction houses. Menghai’s popularity is a magnet for trade, generating growth and profits on a colossal scale. Alongside the marketing of Menghai Tea Factory has grown exponentially leading to some critics suggesting that the attention and efforts would be better directed towards improving the production of the tea products. It is no secret that the foundation of Menghai’s reputation was built on the great success that was achieved through its old vintages and understandably the marketing continues to heavily leverage these prize assets to promote and add value to the new line of productions. With this in mind I wanted to assess how much of the characteristics and traits I perceived from my experience with Menghai’s old stock have been carried over to a new modern production. It is a rough measure for gauging the substance behind the brand’s marketing hype as well as the expectation and risks of a Menghai’s modern production.
SETUP: Gongfu tea preparation, approx. 5g/100ml carried out over multiple infusions.
Modern Production (Post-2004), 2011 MTF 7542
I conducted my comparative tea session in a straightforward manner that involves brewing the 2003 Purple Dayi and 2011 MTF 7542 side by side and alternately sipping from their respective cups at intervals within the progression of steeps. The contrast and interplay of characteristics presents a candid depiction of the nature and quality of the teas in front of me. This practice of comparative tasting reveals a large disparity between the 2 Menghai productions. The simple character of the 2011 MTF 7542 leans heavily towards that of green tea with oolongish traits. Sipping the lackluster brew I found the 2011 version to be underwhelming. I could not help but recall the rich and complex brew from the old vintages that brought fame to the historic 7542 blend, there was no relation. The 2003 Purple Dayi presented a powerful and complex character by comparison. The 2003 is not a simple tea and I detected uncompromising notes of smoke, woody accents, strong tannins at the fore bundled in a vigorous and darkening brew. As I observed how both teas performed there is a significant difference in the strength, depth and complexity that would be disconcerting for an old puerh enthusiast. This is further compounded by the diverging age transformation of the 2 teas. I had intentionally selected both the 2003 and 2011 Menghai productions for their dry (natural) storage to compare their development as a semi-age tea under this context. The 2003 is active and shows progressive development however the progress of the 2011 is somewhat stunted. To my senses the changes within the 2011 is off. It is my impression that the different temperatures utilized during the tea processing and thereafter the impact on the microbiology and subsequent maturation plays a part. The cooked characteristic of the 2011 is more pronounced than the 2003. The oolong traits here is evident of a high temperature processing that I believe has been detrimental to the tea's microbiology. This is an area that deserves more study and one that I will be keeping a close eye on.
In conclusion I found very little resemblance between the 2 representations from the "Old" and "New" era of Menghai Tea Factory. I noted that the green tea and oolong traits continue to be a prevalent presence in modern puerh production. As a result I have very little expectation that the 2011 MTF 7542 (and other modern productions like it) due to its considerable differences will age into anything like Menghai’s past old vintages. It is my opinion that the moniker “drink now” is an accurate description for this modern production of puerh tea.
