Thursday, August 6, 2009

MengHai Factory DaYi #7582 Sheng Beeng



The 7582 recipe is an older MengHai Factory recipe yet rarely produced. In fact, I haven't seen any other productions of the #7582 other than the '06, of which is also becoming quite elusive.

The recipe of the #7582 contains a 6-9 grade blend from YiWu and the Ba Da mountains however it is unknown what is the percentage of each. What is known however is that the '06 is one of the most expensive DaYi code recipes of that year.

First Impressions



The first thing grabbed my attention other than the leaf grade was that surface of the cake was quite peppered with yellow leaves. Not a big problem of course but was just unusual, at least for me, for a DaYi product. Certainly I have seen 'some' yellow leaves in DaYi but never to this extent. Interesting to say the least. The dry leaves appeared to be healthy and certainly do correspond to the leaf grade of the recipe. I can even say that they have darkened a bit since I have purchased it. They had a lovely melon and grassy sent that were quite noticeable even though the wrapper.



The maocha was not as compact as they appear at first glance. They easily pried off with my toucha pick with very little effort.

Brewing Parameters

Method - 150ml Gaiwan

Amount - 6.2gm


Infusion Times

1-15s
2-12s
3-25s
4-35s
5-55s
6-65s

Tasting Impressions





Aroma

The aroma was really not that captivating. This was not to suggest that it was not pleasant - indeed it was; however, I was expecting the lovely notes of YiWu that one receives from young sheng. For the most part, the aroma was quintessential pu-erh with hints of citrus and pine resin. I guess it wasn't all that bad. The latter infusions had become grassy which of course is not that surprising and very much consist ant with the former infusions.

Taste

From the onset, it was a powerful drink. The very first infusion woke my palate. Most of the sensations were concentrated on the sides of my tongue and the top of my mouth. Still very youthful in quality - brassy and astringent. The acidity was also exceptionally strong which was indicated by its brightness. The initial notes were subdued honey and faint hints of melon. However, the only word I could find to describe the latter infusions was, meaty. There was indeed a meaty quality to it. Not the meatiness that we at times associate the taste or sensation of Umami , but meaty in the sense that the flavors were not relenting in any way. It was like every taste bud was affected by some search and destroy misson. The huigan did not reveal itself until after the 4 round. However, a little to late in that the liquor soon after leeched out.

Spent Leaves



Final Impressions


I am not sure if my analysis was too critical. Perhaps I was judging it to other Yiwu blended products that I have. Nonetheless, it certainly has the oomph needed to age and I presume that that it will. In fact the liquor seems a bit darker than the last time I sampled it. Not that liquor color is any a good indication but at least I know that it is certainly trying to transform. Nonetheless,it will have to age because I am not touching this one again for at least another 3-4 years.

It was not that the flavors were brutal but they are much to potent to drink on a causual bases. That said, I can say with out a doubt that I can characterize this example as androgenous in that it has both female and masculine qualities - the flavors were to some extent pefume-y with a pleasing quality to them but very much an alpha. Unfortnately, I was unable to gauge any chaqi with so much going on. I am very excited to see how these beengs will develop.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'd like a Puer that breaks off so easily from the cake. Let me ask you something. Do you believe you'll do well to age this Puer even though you didn't like it as well when it was younger? Isn't that a risk since it might be judged to not improve with age? --Jason

Bill said...

Hello Jason, Thank for reading,

As for your question, indeed, I do believe that it will age as it has some of the necessary components. I sampled it on the assumption that it may have mellowed a tad after 3 years. However, it is still way to agressive to enjoy even on the most casual of instances. Some novices have the ill concieved notion that if the puerh is easy drinking while young it will make a great tasting puerh while aged. Nothing can be more wrong. Young sheng needs oomph and power to develop. A flimsy to which can be consumed 'now' will certainly become more flimsy. There would be no reason for aging puerh if it were easy to drink while young.

Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Hi Bill,

I like the comment:
"There would be no reason for aging puerh if it were easy to drink while young".

There're people who tasted the older Dayi 7582 and found that this one only gets better with aging. Off couse we can't compare quality of leaves from two different periode but it's interesting and informative for a novice like me.
Enjoy your post very much.

Betta

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