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“I want to thank Bonnie over and over again for saying she puts her puerh leaves in the fridge to cold steep after she has had some hot steeps of it. I did that two days ago and just let it sit in...” Read full tasting note
“This is my first tea picked by my homemade randomizer. It was one of the ones I was hoping to squirrel but the randomizer picked it and I am a slave to the system. I also didn’t take detailed notes...” Read full tasting note
“100 Grams is really not a very big tea cake, however at 5 G per session, it will make tea 20 times, & of course each session will make many cups of tea to savor. I weighed it, & it actually...” Read full tasting note
“purchased this tea as a splurge reward to myself. i almost stalled at the price but wow. i see why. a very good premium tea i have already infused it 5 times and it still maintains its strength and...” Read full tasting note
This is the one of the highest grade premium ripe teas released by Menghaitea factory for the year 2009! It is also the first release of this mini iron cake which is called "Purple Rhyme" (Zi Yun 紫韵）. This is similar to the "Hong Yun" mini cake released last year, but slightly lighter fermentation.
Menghai tea factory is the foremost tea factory in Yunnan with more than 50 years of history. The quality of their ripe pu-erhs have made them the undisputed King of Ripe Pu-erh! This collectable mini tea cake is composed of grade 3 and higher leaves, all smaller leaf fermented material with plenty of flavor to give up when brewed! When brewing, keep infusion times very short in the beginning! Sure to be a classic due to its amazing textured flavor profile and limited production quantity.
Tea Weight: 100 grams / 130 grams ship weight
Ingredients: Yunnan Large leaf varietal fermented pu-erh
Produced by Menghai Tea Factory
Company description not available.
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Menghai Tea FactoryI want to thank Bonnie over and over again for saying she puts her puerh leaves in the fridge to cold steep after she has had some hot steeps of it. I did that two days ago and just let it sit in a big pitcher. I am finally drinking it today and I have to say it is one of the most refreshing things you could possibly imagine.
I posted a link to the recipe for Ent Draught last week, but to me, THIS is what Ent Draught would taste like. It is so perfectly light, refreshing, and clean, clean, clean, while at the same time tasting of purest earth. I think I could actually gulp down the whole pitcher in a very short time, and it is so cooling and uplifting. There is not even a tad of sugar in it. It doesn’t need it.
Ent Draught is supposed to be clear, thus the distilling process, but this is the taste it should have! The color of the cold brew puerh is gorgeous – so orange and clear. It looks like really good Southern sweet tea. I would much rather have this, though.
I am almost looking forward to our sticky summer weather just so I can drink gallons of this!
This is my first tea picked by my homemade randomizer. It was one of the ones I was hoping to squirrel but the randomizer picked it and I am a slave to the system. I also didn’t take detailed notes about each steep because I am lazy.
I absolutely loved this tea based completely on the superficial. It’s adorable. It’s so tiny and pretty and the box is purple. The look of it made me happy. Brewed, it’s just magnificent. So sweet and creamy. There are times when I sip this tea and it’s just notes of caramelized dates with that smooth creaminess and it was just perfect. Pure perfection. This is one of the smoothest ripe pu’ers I have ever tried.
I don’t think this will be an everyday tea. Not because I don’t love it to bits and pieces but I want it to last. I am tempted in a big way to buy another one of these and a Red Rhyme.
I need to pull this one out, it’s been awhile since I drank it!
This is a good one! Had this myself a while back.
I’m a sucker for pretty tea boxes. Glad to hear the tea in it is good too.
Yep the tea is superb in this pretty little box. The have one called “Red Rhyme” that is superb also!
100 Grams is really not a very big tea cake, however at 5 G per session, it will make tea 20 times, & of course each session will make many cups of tea to savor. I weighed it, & it actually weighed in at 92G, but my guess is that it was originally 100, & lost weight as it aged.
I started with a rinse, which admittedly, I drank, savoring the gentle essence of semolina & vanilla cake. The wet leaves smell of Kugle. What’s Kugle? It’s a dish made with buttery noodles & custard, which can be made either sweet or savory. I used to make it for my kids when they were young, everyone loved it so. In this case, I’m thinking of the sweet kind, with vanilla.
Here’s my impression of the steepings:
1. 10 sec: It’s so creamy & sweet, & it’s Kugle!
2. 15 sec: Even creamier & sweeter!
3 – 5 at 20, 25, & 30 sec were combined into a pitcher, to enjoy while I was teaching a student, & the flavors continued.
6. 45 sec: the butteriness is replaced by a golden sensation, as if my tongue were covered in a sleeve of pure thin gold. I know that sounds weird, but it’s the only way I can describe it. Still sweet.
7. 1 minute: It feels like I’m drinking cream. The flavor is of a brown crust of WW bread.
I had to leave for awhile, but when I got home, I ran through several more steepings, & could probably continue, but I have somewhere to be, so maybe tomorrow? This is a very nice tea!
7.
purchased this tea as a splurge reward to myself. i almost stalled at the price but wow. i see why. a very good premium tea i have already infused it 5 times and it still maintains its strength and flavor. dark earthy and tasty. heading to get another cup now. 30 second steeps increasing about 10 seconds between cups.
I’ve been working on this one all day – most enjoyable with good flavor in every cup. Boiling water; (2) 5 second rinses; 30s steep; another 10 seconds added for each steep after the first. Earthy then buttery then creamy. I’m going to order another cake so that I can keep this around for a long time.
I am digging this one. I’ve been drinking steeps of this over the morning in an effort to hold to my goal of getting through the samples that terri sent me of a variety of puerhs! Initial impressions, so that i don’t lose that is that this is a very creamy puerh. I’m going to toss the leaves to cold brew once i’m done with them just to see how that works but overall impressions of this so far is that this is just delicious!
last night session
last time i had this tea i probably didnt use enough. it was ok but nothing special.
this time i decided to increase the amount to 8g. it made a huge difference. this tea is rich smooth and creamy. i’m happy to have it in my cupboard.
http://instagram.com/p/v0xkcChwm9/
http://instagram.com/p/v014KRhwg-/
That’s a favorite of mine. I think its a clear cut above most of the rest of Menghai’s ripes.
I have maybe one more session with my mini-cake. Wishing I stocked up more!
The photos are amazing! The liquor in the final shot looks divine… :D
@ jschergen http://www.angelinasteas.com/shoppe/teas/pu-erh/SKU000864-4fd8fa76b17f5-detail.html
still has it. cheap too.
thank you Red Fennekin. the brew is thick strong and creamy. i dont think its very caffeinated. i had 4 steeps around midnight and fell asleep immediately ;)
this is a winner….
Thanks! Is that where you bought it from?
It may just be the cynic in me, but their price is beneath the Chinese market which has left me concerned about it being a potential fake. I’d feel a lot more confident knowing someone has gotten the tea and it was pretty alright.
Cheers!
i bought it at Mandala. but i placed couple orders with them. its not fake what i received. You can ask mrmopar and Dignitea. they ordered fr them as well. Look at Tuocha Tea, their prices are low too
i got fr Angelina’s 2006 Haiwan * Peacock Quest * Ripe
2008 Menghai “Hong Yun” Ripe Pu-erh Mini and something else i dont remember. All authentic
Mandala doesn’t carry these anymore but I definitely trust them, don’t know much about Angelina’s tea however. I got my 2009 from Jas-e tea but they’re also out.
James – I have purchased several things from Angelinas and I have been happy with each one. I picked up one of these Zi Yuns but it is my second so I’ve not yet tried it. Today I am enjoying a 2005 6FTM MengSong purchased at Angelinas last year. It’s a good one.
@DigniTea – great, now I want one :P
I almost drank this one today :)
Terri, the day is not over yet. You can still make it cause its awesome! Unless you have other plans ;)
The “Dayi Hong” is good and similar to this.
@DigniTea @boychick Thanks for the notes on Angelinas! At less than $10, the risk is certainly not enormous.
Indeed, I have been looking for this for a while. If it is the real deal I will definitely stock up! If anyone can verify that Angelina’s is carrying this same cake, it would be very much appreciated!
Oh, I see, Angelina’s has the 2008 version, not 2009. I am wondering how they compare.
Rich, I got one 2008 Dayi Hong fr Mandala and one fr Angelina. They are absolutely the same.
Oh, thanks for checking! So the wrapper from the Angelina’s cake says 2009?
I misunderstood you Rich. I bought this tea fr Mandala. I also bought 2008 Red Rhyme fr Mandala and 2008 Red Rhyme fr Angelina. Those cakes are the same. But last night I ordered Zi Yun fr Angelinas. Hopefully next week I will tell you if they are the same. They ship pretty fast.
I think the one from Angelina’s is actually from 2009. It looks legit though.
Ok. Got it. Very impressed. Placed an order on Wed , got it Sat . Don’t forget that it was Thanksgiving week. It is 2008. Looks exactly like 2009. Box, menghai sticker. Looks good to me.
that is so funny, I ended up ordering one too. Just have to go to the post office to pick it up next week. :))
Sorry for being enabler, TeaBrat ;)
Based on this thread I placed an order with Angelina’s to get that Zi Yun. It is legit, and tastes just like the one I got from Mandala. However… I bought an Adorned in Red cake and a couple loose leaf teas that were HORRIBLE! Tastes like they were stored in a fragrant environment and the odors soaked into the tea making it pretty much undrinkable. I might be able to air it out over a couple months and save it, but I was not pleased. The Zi Yun comes in a box in addition to the wrapper which may have saved it from succumbing to the same fate as the open cake and loose leaf tea. Buyer beware.
Someone actually did this! When I made the note I doubted that anyone would make it. (Being a puer after all) I live in a very arid zone at 5000 ft. and hydration is important. The chilled puer IS refreshing and calms your stomach.
This isn’t the first time I have done it since I first saw it in one of your posts, but everytime I do this I think of you! It is the most refreshing thing I think I had ever had. It tastes like the purest water on earth, infused with the flavor of pristine earth and trees! I really want to try to make it as a clear Ent Draught sometime!
I will be trying this soon!
Sounds like something I’d be interested in trying. How long do you let the leaves steep?
For all my cupboard stash, what you don’t see is how frugal I am. My bins are salad containers, half my stash are samples from friends and trades. I don’t throw out tea leaves that still have goodness in them that can be used for cold brewing. My budget has been $15-$20 a month for tea and sometimes I’m down to nothing for months other than going for tea in town which is about $4 a week. It’s my only entertainment outside of TV, so I think people who complain about prices can have lots of tea for less probably if they plan for quality not just quantity. You should explain Ent Draught so others know what that means. We all learn from each other! Maybe when the weather gets warm, we can have a cold tea thread and share what we do!
Oh- I use that bottle top thing that the Tea Spot invented to filter the leaves. What do you use?
Em: I let this steep for two days so far, but I will keep it going in the refrigerator until I drink it all, even if that is a few more days. It was ready to drink probably six or eight hours after putting it in, since it had already been heated once, so the leaves were “open” and saturated and ready to give up their flavor! I also use a glass container because it conducts temp so well and the tea is so very cold.
Ent Draught was a drink described in The Lord of the Rings. The Ents were the ancient tree shepherds and looked like trees themselves. When the Hobbits drank the crystal clear draught, they grew instantly taller. There were two different times it as served to them, and each time it tasted different. I had posted a link to a site where someone had tried to create their own versions of Ent Draught using tea and herbs, but since it was described as being clear they distilled the tea on the stovetop! If I find the link again, I will post it here,
I found a couple of Bodum iced tea pitchers with filter in the lid at TJ Maxx a while back for a really good sale price! That is what I use for cold brewing.
http://foodthroughthepages.com/2012/12/18/ent-draught-the-lord-of-the-rings/
There it is! The description from the book as well as the recipe to imitate are here, but I really truly feel this is a description of white tea for the first, perhaps infused with flowers like jasmine or osmanthus, and jerk tea for the second drink that was given to them.
cold shu is great…a little citrus(yuzu) in it is good too…