Menghai 7572 90's harvest

Hi Mal,

I do have experience with this vendor. The proprietors name is Yat and I have obtained some very good authentic aged puerhs from him. I trust that the teas are what he says they are.

That being said I have 2 reservations with this particular offering.

1) The stated vintage of 90s is too vague, it could mean 1991 or even 1999. With a puerh this young that 10 year span makes a huge difference in terms of value. That vague decade granularity might be ok when talk about a tea from the 60s or 70s but it should be much precise when talking about a tea so recent.

2) This is a black puerh so it is not as valuable as an aged green puerh. Understand that a black puerh will mature/improve very little after about 7 years.

All of that being said I would say that if it is an early 90s cake then the price is not bad, if it is a late 90s cake then the price is high. For example there are others who sell similar black puerhs from

2000-2001 for $20. The challenge in finding a competing offer is finding another whose authenticity can be trusted.

Mike Petro

Thanks Mike.... I'll make some queries of the vendor - if the tea is an early 90's harvest I'm prepared to give the tea a go. I've not had a black pu-erh yet, so what can I expect from this cake ? I have only had experience with one to date (I said I was new !), a Royal Grade B Loose Leaf which I got from pu-erhtea.com. Nice red liquour and a woodsy/mushroom type taste - find it quite pleasant and very moorish !

Cheers Mal Oz

That particular cake is of decent heritage. It will be somewhat more robust than the tea you got from James Bana and the leaf will be much larger but you can expect the same woodsy/mushroom flavor and due to its age it should be smooth with very litttle of the fermentation (yeasty) odor/flavor. That sour-dough smell in new black cakes goes away as it ages, after about 7 years it should be completely gone.

Suggestion: why dont you order the sample size instead of the whole cake. That is an expensive cake for someone who is unsure of what they are buying.

Mike Petro

My wife and your good self are like thinkers ! She also suggested trying the sample pack - 300g is a lot of tea if it doesn't suit my palate.

Appreciate the advice, Mike. Thanks and good night for now.

Cheers Mal Oz